For veterans of Minnesota health policy wars, the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee provided a memorable moment on March 16. I regret that I wasn't there. Fortunately, the crackerjack House audio recording system and a few spies were.
On the docket were bills to repeal both MNsure, Minnesota's much-maligned Obamacare insurance purchasing exchange, and the older, more beloved MinnesotaCare. At some point during the proceedings, the bills' sponsor, Republican Rep. Matt Dean of Dellwood, became aware of the presence of a newly registered lobbyist in the listening audience — one Linda Berglin.
That would be former state Sen. Linda Berglin, the DFLer and feminist pioneer who represented south Minneapolis for more than 38 years. For at least 20 those years, she was this state's most significant shaper of health policy and a nationally recognized leader in the field. She was a chief designer of MinnesotaCare in 1992.
Berglin now deploys her health policy chops at Hennepin County, where she is among the godparents of Hennepin Health, a pioneering effort to combine health care for the poor with other social services to both improve results and reduce costs. That work brought her to the basement hearing room of the State Office Building on a March Monday night.
Berglin says she wouldn't have come just to watch Dean push for her progeny's repeal. "I wouldn't have wasted my time," she told me last week. But neither could she bring herself to leave the hearing. Her presence reportedly caused a mild stir as Capitol newbies were quietly informed that the Mother of MinnesotaCare was present — and didn't look happy.
Dean must have felt Berglin's gaze as the committee cast an 11-10 vote in favor of MinnesotaCare's repeal. One Republican, Rep. Dave Baker of Willmar, joined all the DFLers in voting no.
Then Dean did the gracious thing: "Before we leave this, I just want to acknowledge the great work that MinnesotaCare has done for Minnesotans," he said. "Also, we have former Sen. Berglin, who is here, who probably did more to design that and to make sure that care was available for Minnesotans for many, many, many years. I want to acknowledge her, acknowledge her work within that, and also her willingness to work with anyone as we move forward."
That last line may have been Dean's hopeful note. He said he approached her a few moments later and asked in jest what her fee might be as a consultant to design a successor health insurance scheme for the 100,000 low-income Minnesotans now insured by MinnesotaCare.