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Health insurance for all Minnesotans by 2011?
A universal coverage plan would require every resident to have insurance and would offer tax breaks and other aid for people who couldn't afford it.
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A coalition of doctors, legislators and consumer groups Thursday proposed a sweeping universal health care system that would require all Minnesotans to have insurance and provide subsidies for those who couldn't afford it.
The proposal sets a 2011 goal for mandating universal insurance. An estimated 380,000 Minnesotans -- about 7 percent -- are currently uninsured.
By mandating insurance for everyone, the proposal resembles a plan by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican candidate for president, and goes well beyond proposals from Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and legislators for increased coverage. Pawlenty as well as some Senate DFLers have recently scaled back their proposals to cover all of the state's estimated 70,000 uninsured children.
The bipartisan plan unveiled Thursday aims at insuring all adults as well as children.
"Universal coverage is an achievable goal," said Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon, DFL-Duluth, who is sponsoring the universal coverage bill in the Senate. A House supporter, Rep. Thomas Huntley, DFL-Duluth, said the bill "requires people to take responsibility for their own health, but at the same time it gives them the security of knowing assistance is available."
But some business and labor organizations -- including the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Minnesota Nurses Association -- complained that the proposal requires insurance without containing costs that make health care unaffordable for many people.
Big Brother?
The bill would require employers to report uninsured employees to the Revenue Department and collect a portion of their wages equal to insurance premiums as tax withholding.
"This bill ... puts an incredible burden on businesses to report their own employees in Big-Brother fashion," said Eileen Weber, program coordinator for the Minnesota Universal Health Care Coalition.
Supporters say the mandate would be mitigated by a sliding fee schedule that would set premiums according to a person's ability to pay.
Those unable to pay the full costs would receive a tax credit, enrollment in medical assistance programs or other subsidies.
Julie Schnell, president of the Service Employees International Union in Minnesota, said she isn't convinced that the breaks would enable people to afford insurance.
Proponents said that they had no good estimate on the cost of the program but that it could range from $300 million to $900 million a year.
The proposal grew out of a task force of insurers and health care providers from Blue Cross and Blue Shield, HealthPartners, Mayo Clinic and elsewhere.
"If everyone is insured, we can keep people healthier, give better care and spend our health care dollars more wisely," said Dr. Donald Jacobs, a physician at Hennepin County Medical Center and chair of the Healthy Minnesota Partnership, the task force that came up with the plan.
A Republican on the task force who supports the plan, Sen. Steve Dille of Dassel, said some opponents on the panel argued "there was not enough in the bill to really control costs." He said Pawlenty representatives on the panel abstained from voting on the proposal.
In January, Pawlenty called for extending coverage to 23,000 more Minnesotans, including 13,000 children, and assisting another 35,000 who purchase private market policies.
"The governor's initiative incorporates the best parts of the Massachusetts plan but doesn't require coverage because mandating something people can't afford won't improve the system," said Brian McClung, a spokesman for Pawlenty.
Pat Doyle • 651-222-1210 • pdoyle@startribune.com
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