FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 27, 2015
Contact: Greta Bergstrom, 651.336.6722, greta@takeactionminnesota.org
St. Paul, MN – The following letter, signed by 78 organizations from across the state, was sent to House Speaker Kurt Daudt this afternoon. The letter urges Daudt to oppose the elimination of MinnesotaCare, as proposed by H.F. 1665. Copies of the letter were also forwarded to Governor Mark Dayton, Commissioner Lucinda Jesson, Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, Senate Minority Leader David Hann, Senator Tony Lourey, House Minority Leader Paul Thissen and Representative Matt Dean:
March 27, 2015
Representative Kurt Daudt
Speaker of the House
463 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
Re: HF1665
Dear Speaker Daudt:
The undersigned 78 organizations are writing to urge you to oppose the elimination of MinnesotaCare, as proposed under HF1665. MinnesotaCare has provided reliable, comprehensive, affordable public health coverage to Minnesota families for over 20 years. Its elimination would harm over 90,000 Minnesotans who rely on it for affordable health care.
MinnesotaCare is an essential source of health coverage for working families across the state. Individuals are eligible for MinnesotaCare if they earn between $15,500 and $23,300 per year for a single individual – for example full-time workers earning $8 to $12 an hour. MinnesotaCare enrollees are parents and single adults who work in jobs that do not offer employer coverage. They are retail employees, child care providers, janitors, and small business owners. MinnesotaCare is a particularly important source of coverage in greater Minnesota. The 25 counties with the highest percentage of MinnesotaCare enrollees per capita are all in greater Minnesota.
HF1665 would dramatically increase health care costs for MinnesotaCare families while also complicating enrollment, reducing critical benefits such as mental health services, and decreasing coverage stability.
Consider a 40 year-old single woman in Minnesota who earns $22,000 a year as a child care provider. On MinnesotaCare, she pays $43 a month plus a minimal deductible and co-pays for comprehensive, quality health coverage. Under HF1665, she would lose her coverage and be eligible to purchase private insurance. On MNsure her options would include one or more silver plans with tax credits and cost-sharing reductions as required under the ACA (referred to as MinnesotaCare II in HF 1665). HF 1665 also proposes an unspecified amount of state-based premium assistance for MinnesotaCare II plans. Even with this assistance, her annual health care costs could double, triple, or worse. Even small costs sharing increases have significant impact on low-income workers, and the increases would be greatest for those with the greatest health needs.
Moreover, access to state-based premium assistance would be dependent on a timely build-out of MNsure functionality, and at best would only be available to consumers enrolling in a very limited number of silver plans. In this context, many consumers will opt to remain uninsured or select high-deductible Bronze plans, leaving them unable to actually access care.
HF1665 would undermine the economic well-being of thousands of Minnesota families across the state. The elimination of MinnesotaCare would also put the health of thousands of Minnesotans at risk at a time when the state faces a $1.9 billion budget surplus, and the Health Care Access Fund alone has a surplus of $13 million. We would urge you to consider these harmful consequences and join us in opposing the elimination of MinnesotaCare.
Sincerely,
AARP
African Immigrant Services (AIS)
AFSCME Council 5
AFSCME Council 65
American Cancer Society – Cancer Action Network
American Diabetes Association
American Heart Association
Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
The Arc Greater Twin Cities
The Arc Minnesota
Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Center for Earth Spirituality and Rural Ministry of the School Sisters of the Notre Dame
Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota
Chinese Social Service Center
CHUM
ClearWay Minnesota SM
Community Action Duluth
Cultural Wellness Center
DMA Consulting LLC
Duluth LISC
Growth & Justice
HAPA Helping All People Achieve
Healing Virtue, LLC
Health Equity Working Committee
Heartland Girls Ranch
Hennepin County Medical Center
Immigrant Law Center of MN
ISAIAH
Jewish Community Action
Joint Religious Legislative Coalition
Lake Superior Community Health Center
Land Stewardship Project
Legal Services Advocacy Project
Mayflower United Church of Christ
Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing (MICAH)
Minneapolis Urban League
Minnesota Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Minnesota AIDS Project
Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health
Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers
Minnesota Budget Project
Minnesota Citizens Federation Northeast
Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless
Minnesota Community Action Partnership
Minnesota Council of Child Caring Agencies
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
Minnesota Farmers Union
Minnesota Housing Partnership
Minnesota National Farmers Organization
Minnesota Psychological Association
The Minnesota Public Interest Research Group
Minnesota Recovery Connection
MN Nurses Association
NAMI Minnesota
NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota
National Association of Social Workers, Minnesota Chapter
National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Upper Midwest Chapter
Native American Community Clinic
Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC)
Northland Healthcare Alliance
OutFront Minnesota
PICO Center for Health Organizing
Pillsbury United Communities
Planned Parenthood Minnesota North Dakota South Dakota
Portico Healthnet
The Safety Net Coalition
SEIU Healthcare Minnesota
SEIU Local 26
SEIU Local 284
SEIU Minnesota State Council
TakeAction Minnesota
Therapeutic Services Agency, Inc
UCare
UFCW 1189
Vietnamese Social Services
Westside Community Health Service
Working Minnesota
Youth Determined to Succeed, Inc.
