Controversial Plan to Abolish MNCare Central to Rep. Dean’s HHS Omnibus Bill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 16, 2015
Contact: Greta Bergstrom, 651.336.6722, greta@takeactionminnesota.org 

St. Paul, MN –  TakeAction Minnesota released the following statement on the House Republican omnibus Health and Human Services bill, reacting to Representative Matt Dean’s plan to eliminate MinnesotaCare for over 95,000 working adults:

“Representative Dean’s carefully worded headline leaves out a critical, and extensive, population – the over 95,000 working Minnesota adults making $8-$12 per hour who will have to struggle to find affordable, comprehensive health care coverage if MinnesotaCare is eliminated.

“The only thing we do know about Representative Dean’s plan is that the MinnesotaCare population currently enrolled in this popular and effective program will pay much more for much less while hunting and pecking through private market plans.

“It appears that abolishing MinnesotaCare is not only central to Representative Dean’s Health and Human Services budget bill but also to making the overall budget numbers work for House Republicans, determined to provide huge tax breaks for big corporations.

“Representative Dean’s controversial plan to abolish an effective health care program for low-income working Minnesotans has created an uproar both outside, and inside, the Capitol. That is because despite a $1.9 billion budget surplus, he is working to dismantle quality, affordable health coverage that working Minnesotans around our state, especially in Greater Minnesota, depend on.”

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