MinnesotaCare: Big news, but big cuts

When the House Republicans made it a priority to eliminate MinnesotaCare this year, we faced an uphill battle to protect this essential program.

But thousands of Minnesotans like you spoke up. You signed petitions, contacted your legislators, shared things online, donated money to support ad campaigns, told your story at the Capitol and in the press. You were tireless in making it clear that the vast majority of Minnesotans wouldn’t stand for this controversial proposal.

Your actions combined with the leadership and tenacity of Governor Dayton, Senate Majority Leader Bakk and Senator Tony Lourey to ensure that MinnesotaCare will remain intact and continue delivering high-quality health care to those who would otherwise pay more for less in the private market, or just go uninsured.

This is an incredible moment to celebrate.

At the same time, the final legislation cuts $65 million from MinnesotaCare, and requires enrollees to pay for that cut themselves.  MinnesotaCare families will see their out-of-pocket costs triple, while premiums also go up.  The cuts to MinnesotaCare come at a time when wages for those on MinnesotaCare are stagnating, making higher health care costs even more difficult to absorb.  The cuts also come at a time when the state has a $1.9 billion surplus, and the funding source dedicated to MinnesotaCare – the Health Care Access Fund – also has a surplus.

Asking low-income Minnesotans to give up an entire week’s pay to give tax breaks to the wealthy is bad policy. As we celebrate that MinnesotaCare will continue to exist, we will also seek every opportunity to restore this program fully in order to ensure that MinnesotaCare families can afford the care they need.