Future Of MinnesotaCare Remains Uncertain
The
House Republicans have said state spending on health and human services is growing at an unsustainable rate. Their bill would make more than
Opponents of the bill say it's unconscionable to cut a health program for the working poor when the state has a
About 105,000 people are enrolled in MinnesotaCare, including about 4,000 in
Rep.
Under the Republican plan, MinnesotaCare enrollees would be transferred to MNsure, the state's health care exchange, and would receive a tax credit to help them cover the cost of insurance.
"We're not throwing these people off of health insurance," Knoblach said.
The additional enrollees also should help stabilize the struggling MNsure program and make it more sustainable in the long term, he said.
However, critics say MinnesotaCare enrollees could face steeper costs for coverage through MNsure.
"We remain concerned for this population of working poor, that they would still face higher deductibles, higher copays, higher premiums than they would on MinnesotaCare," said
If people don't get insurance through the exchange, they are less likely to get preventive care and more likely to end up in the hospital, Burt said.
"Hospital care, we know, is expensive. It's the most expensive place to seek care," she said. "We will still have people coming into the hospital but unable to pay the deductibles."
Many people in MinnesotaCare don't have enough income to afford coverage through MNsure, said
"They're just right out of poverty," Mason said. "They're in a pretty precarious situation, and the amount of assistance that's available to them at that level is such that they really can't afford to purchase insurance through the exchange."
While a tax credit would help buy down the premium cost, they likely would wind up with insurance that has a higher deductible that they can't afford, Mason said.
"They end up with something they can't use," she said.
Republicans argue that health care spending is a longer-reaching problem that can't be ignored because of a one-time budget surplus.
Knoblach noted that health and human services now consumes about 29 percent of the state's budget, double the portion of 30 or 40 years ago. As a result, spending on higher education, property tax relief and other areas have gotten smaller, he said.
A conference committee will now have to work out differences between the
Even if MinnesotaCare isn't eliminated this year, Knoblach said it's good that lawmakers are talking about the program's future.
"At least it gets the conversation rolling and has people starting to think about different alternatives," he said.
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Total number of MinnesotaCare enrollees by county as of
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