Bargaining phase is up next for health plan at Minn. Capitol
11 04 08 - 19:24
By MARTIGA LOHN Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press - Friday, April 11, 2008
ST. PAUL
After months of task-force work and countless hours of legislative deliberation, final negotiations are set to begin on a health care proposal aimed at getting more people affordable health insurance.
The plan to push doctors to keep their patients out of the hospital and make sure most Minnesotans get insurance passed the House 83-50 on Thursday after a long debate about government's role in medicine.
The vote sends the bill on for negotiations with the Senate.
But the overhaul of the health care system still faces a long road before becoming law. The House bill differs somewhat from the Senate version approved last month, and draws its money from a dedicated fund Gov. Tim Pawlenty wants to tap to address Minnesota's $935 million deficit.
On Friday, Pawlenty called the bill "flawed, but perhaps fixable."
Some criticize the bill for going too far with changes to the way health care is paid for and delivered, while others say it doesn't go far enough. Even the bill's sponsor, Rep. Tom Huntley, acknowledged the difficulties of pushing change in such a complex area involving so many players.
"Every single person in the health care system is nervous," said Huntley, DFL-Duluth. "But every single one of those people want changes."
Huntley predicted the plan would cover more than 100,000 currently uninsured residents, while the 93 percent of Minnesotans who have insurance would notice a new emphasis on quality and preventing disease through lifestyle changes like quitting smoking and losing weight.
The core of the plan would reward medical providers for making their patients healthier, catching problems early and managing costly chronic conditions. The aim is to push health care in a new direction and save money, although the bill's architects can't say how soon savings would materialize.
They want to use the savings to expand the health care system to more people. Minnesotans might be required to seek out coverage, as is the law in Massachusetts, if the changes don't result in 96 percent of people having health insurance by 2011.
Republicans attacked the plan as "socialized medicine," saying it would lead to long waits and diminished choices for consumers. They also took issue with plans to spend $269 million from a dedicated health care fund to pay for the changes, saying the state would run out of money to sustain the policies in a few years.
"We want something that's real - real reform that's going to reduce people's insurance premiums," said GOP House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall. "For that middle class out there - the butchers, the bakers, the candlestick makers - they aren't going to see squat out of this bill."
Attempts to allow private out-of-state insurers more latitude to sell policies in Minnesota, reduce taxes on medical providers and limit medical malpractice penalties either failed or were ruled out of order by DFL leaders. A move to require women planning an abortion to look at ultrasound pictures of the fetus beforehand failed 64-68.
Several changes were approved:
_Requiring officials to verify immigration status of applicants for subsidized health programs.
_Penalizing drug offenders on MinnesotaCare if they test positive for drugs. The first positive test would result in a $150 fine, and they would lose their insurance if they tested positive a second time.
_Barring officials from collecting information on individuals' body mass index - a measurement used to determine whether a person is overweight or obese - without the person's written consent.