Where they stand: Amy Klobuchar and Lisa Demuth on health care

The Minnesota Star Tribune is exploring the top issues in the governor’s race with a series of articles this week that look at where the candidates stand.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has made lowering health care costs a pillar of her campaign for governor, rolling out a plan to address premium spikes and the expiration of federal Affordable Care Act subsidies.

Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, the GOP nominee for governor, has not released a health care plan, but her campaign has pointed to her support for the state’s reinsurance program, which reimburses health insurers for high-cost medical claims as a way to help lower costs. She has also said she would continue working to support rural hospitals.

As Minnesotans face higher insurance costs and impending federal Medicaid changes such as work requirements, the state’s next governor will almost certainly be expected to find ways to make health care more accessible.

“People are asking, ‘When am I going to have health care that fits my budget?’ The next governor of Minnesota has to answer that question,” Klobuchar said last month during a news conference at a Maple Grove oncology clinic.

Here’s where each candidate stands on key health care policies.

Demuth: Demuth said in a statement that she would support extending the federal subsidies if it provided “some measure of relief to Minnesotans.”

“But the reality of the situation is subsidies do nothing to bring down costs overall, which is another failure of Klobuchar’s 20 years in Washington,” Demuth said.

Klobuchar: Klobuchar has proposed creating a new state tax credit to offset the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, which has driven up premium costs for millions of Americans. The credit would be delivered through MNsure and targeted at small business owners, self-employed workers and farmers. It would cost up to $180 million, Klobuchar said.

Klobuchar: She has said she would expand the state’s bulk purchasing of prescription drugs and seek to make lower-cost generics and biosimilar medications more widely available.

Klobuchar has accused Demuth of siding “with Big Pharma over rural hospitals,” saying the speaker held up a bipartisan state Senate bill meant to improve a prescription drug discount program that supports hospitals.

“She stopped it from getting a vote in the House,” Klobuchar said of Demuth. “When I am governor, I will not let it expire and I will strengthen it.”

Minnesota hospitals received $1.3 billion in 2024 from the federal 340B program, which allows them to purchase drugs at a discount, bill insurers full price and pocket the difference. Hospitals, particularly financially distressed rural providers, wanted state lawmakers to extend the program earlier this year, while pharmaceutical manufacturers opposed it.

Demuth: Demuth said earlier this year that the bill to extend the 340B program did not have the votes despite bipartisan sponsorship.

“If there wasn’t going to be the support or the bipartisan votes to move things through the committee process, they weren’t able to go anywhere,” she said.

Demuth’s spokesperson said she would “continue her bipartisan work supporting rural hospitals and making sure health care dollars only go to those who need it instead of to fraudsters and illegal immigrants.”

Demuth: Demuth’s spokesperson said the speaker fought at the State Capitol to continue Minnesota’s reinsurance program, which lowers costs by giving health insurers taxpayer-funded reimbursement for high-cost medical claims.

Klobuchar: Klobuchar said she would seek to extend and strengthen the state’s reinsurance program, and would direct the Minnesota Department of Commerce to review and possibly deny “excessive” premium increases.

Klobuchar: Klobuchar has pointed to her record in Washington as evidence that she is prepared to address the issue as governor. She pushed to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies and led an effort that allowed Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices.

President Donald Trump, she said, has used that expanded Medicare power to lower prices.

“And we continue to see [prices] decrease under some of the major Medicare drugs, which helps with the rest of the drugs in the country,” Klobuchar said.

Demuth: In lieu of a specific plan, Demuth’s campaign has largely pointed to her past work at the State Capitol to explain how she would address health care policy.

During the 2025 legislative session, Demuth struck a budget deal that included the removal of undocumented adults from the state’s health insurance program for the working poor. She has repeatedly cited that policy victory on the campaign trail while trying to win over conservative voters who support the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

Earlier this year, Demuth agreed to a bipartisan deal that provided aid to the financially distressed Hennepin County Medical Center. The deal included $205 million in direct funding for the safety-net hospital, as well as the creation of $500 million hospital reserve account from which HCMC and other eligible hospitals can apply for funding.

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