EDITORIAL: Health care gets personal at Minnesota Capitol
The DFL governor inadvertently underscored a reality that ought to drive this year's health policy debate: Health issues are unpredictable, and spare no one.
After presenting a
The two-term governor, who will turn 70 Thursday, said he considers himself able to continue to serve in office. "As far as I know, there are no brain cells in my prostate," he joked. The disease is one that generally responds well to treatment, he said.
The
That's one view of the possible consequences of a MinnesotaCare expansion, but it's not the only one. Others see lower costs for consumers, increased competition and the assurance of at least one individual health insurance option in every corner of the state -- something not guaranteed today.
A year ago, a health care financing task force created jointly by Dayton and the 2015 Legislature recommended raising the income eligibility threshold for MinnesotaCare. Republican legislators should at least conduct hearings to examine that idea as well as Dayton's proposal to allow Minnesotans at all income levels to enroll.
They should also seriously consider Dayton's recommendation that the 2 percent provider tax that has underwritten MinnesotaCare for a quarter century be continued indefinitely. That tax is now due to disappear in 2019. If it goes, MinnesotaCare and a portion of
In other respects, Dayton's budget proposal contains few surprises. He seeks a substantial increase in funding for education from preschool through college, but -- in a bow to fiscal as well as political reality -- he did not renew his earlier call to require all school districts to offer preschool for 4-year-olds.
To his credit, he aims several proposals at helping low- and middle-income families afford quality child care -- an important move in a state that needs to keep as many young parents in the workforce as possible while giving more children the benefit of preschool experiences.
He allowed that in a separate message to the Legislature, he will again propose a gas tax increase to pay for highway improvements -- which
We're rooting for something to happen this year to change that narrative. Dayton offered a suggestion Tuesday: "If I'd known [fainting] would result in the
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