Statement on the Passage of Health Exchange Legislation H.F. 5, By Minnesota House of Representatives

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 15, 2013
Contact: Greta Bergstrom, 651.336.6722, greta@takeactionminnesota.org

TAKEACTION MINNESOTA STATEMENT ON PASSAGE OF HEALTH CARE EXCHANGE LEGISLATION, H.F. 5, BY MINNESOTA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

St. Paul, MN – Liz Doyle, Associate Director of TakeAction Minnesota, issued the following statement upon passage of H.F. 5 by the Minnesota House of Representatives:

“We applaud the Minnesota House for the passage of legislation tonight to establish a Minnesota Health Insurance Exchange. This landmark legislation will provide much-needed relief for thousands of Minnesotans struggling with the soaring cost of health care. An estimated 1.3 million Minnesotans will gain access to affordable coverage on the Minnesota Exchange, including over 300,000 currently uninsured individuals.

“The conference committee legislation passed tonight puts people at the center of Minnesota’s Health Insurance Exchange. The legislation protects the Exchange from financial conflicts of interest. It ensures that the Exchange can utilize “active purchaser” tools to offer Minnesotans better value in the health care market. And the legislation finances the Exchange by entities that have the most to gain financially – the insurers that will bring in substantial new revenues on the Exchange.

“The Minnesota House has taken a huge step forward tonight toward creating a more accessible and better value health care system for all Minnesotans. We thank Representative Atkins for his leadership on this issue on behalf of Minnesotans, and members of the Minnesota House for improving health care security for Minnesota families across our state.”

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TakeAction Minnesota is a statewide people’s network of individual and organizational members working collaboratively to raise the voices of Minnesotans in their own communities to advance social, racial and economic justice. www.TakeActionMinnesota.org