Tag Archives: health care
MNCare Means Affordable Coverage for Self-Employed
Posted January 12, 2015
So many Minnesotans who are self-employed have struggled to find affordable coverage options.
When Ruth got divorced 15 years ago, her ex-husband continued paying for her health insurance because she is self-employed. However, a few months ago she went in for surgery and was told that she no longer had coverage. She fought to keep the same plan, but ended up paying an unaffordable premium of $350/month.
With the help of a navigator, Ruth enrolled in MNsure and found out that she qualifies for MNCare. Now, she’s got affordable health care that covers her needs.… Continue reading »
MNCare Provides Necessary Care for Chronically Ill
Posted
One of the reasons it is so crucial that we keep MNCare as our basic health plan in MN is that it provides on-going care to so many who suffer from chronic health conditions. Corey is one of those people.
When Corey was 22, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Over the years, he’s been uninsured many times because his employer hasn’t always offered him coverage. Without coverage, he’s gone without his diabetes medication, which has landed him in the hospital. Four years ago, Corey applied and found out he qualifies for MNCare.
Thanks to MNCare, Corey has access to life saving insulin and is therefore able to work and take care of his family.… Continue reading »
MNCare Covers Folks in a Tough Spot
Posted
As we mark the halfway point during this year’s MNsure open enrollment, we’re reminded of how important this basic public health plan is to Minnesotans. All over the state, folks caught without coverage for a variety of reasons rely on MNCare to get the quality health care they need.
For example, John, a resident of Eden Prairie, lost his job two years ago and couldn’t afford the $789/month Cobra premium. So, he went without insurance. When MNsure opened, he enrolled and found out that he qualifies for MNCare. This past fall, John got a much-needed surgery that he would not have been able to afford without MNCare.
Thanks to MNCare, Minnesotans like John know that they can get health care when they’re going through a tough time.… Continue reading »
NEW MNsure Eligibility Chart
Posted October 31, 2014
Worried about your health care coverage? Wondering what you might qualify for this year on the MNsure exchange? Use the charts below to get a quick sense of what kind of health coverage you can get from MNsure, and what your expected monthly cost (premium) might be. Remember, open enrollment starts November 15.
Help Getting Health Care
Posted December 20, 2013
Earlier this year, I couldn’t wait for October 1st when finally we could stop talking about what the ACA might mean for people, and people could start seeing for themselves.
Unfortunately, as we all know, that period of uncertainty has continued a little longer than we expected for many people, because of challenges getting through MNsure, Healthcare.gov, and exchanges around the country.
But there’s a new tool that can help answer those questions for Minnesotans, and your friends and family around the country.
Raise your hand if someone you know has asked a question, posted on facebook, lobbed a tweet, complained or otherwise let you know that they just haven’t been able to figure out what’s out there for them? Raise your other hand if you haven’t been able to figure out what’s out there for you! (And then give your arms a good shake – this waiting and wondering is stressful)
There’s good news.
1) This great new tool takes just a minute to give you a really good idea of what you may qualify for when you complete an application on MNsure. It’s a calculator from Get Covered America and they’ve just updated it with all the great Minnesota-made programs like the rates of private plans on MNsure, MinnesotaCare, and expanded Medical Assistance for kids and pregnant women.… Continue reading »
13 Best Photos of 2013
Posted December 19, 2013
From January to December, see some of the best shots of the action that made big change possible in 2013.
1. We kicked off the year at our Annual Meeting making plans, and asking the legislature to expand and improve MinnesotaCare.
2. In February, we braved the cold with Representative Ray Dehn and the NAACP to file 10 complaints with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission regarding Target’s hiring practices.
3. The next week hundreds of us stood outside Target Headquarters and asked them to be a leader in closing Minnesota’s worst-in-the-nation racial jobs gap.
4. In March we visited Wells Fargo to shine a spotlight on corporate tax loopholes.
5. We celebrated Minnesota’s new health exchange, and thanked champions like Senator Al Franken for making it possible.
6. In May, we hit the Capitol to ask legislators to ask the wealthiest in our state to pay their fair share in taxes.
7. In June we traveled to Denver with Representative Ray Dehn, ISAIAH, and CTUL for Target’s shareholder meeting.
8. Our members met with Governor Dayton to talk about making our state a place where all Minnesotans can thrive.
9. August isn’t complete without a visit to the State Fair!… Continue reading »
Pause for a moment to celebrate.
Posted December 18, 2013
As we close out 2013, take a look at all that people-power made possible this year, and start dreaming big about what big change we can win together in 2014 and beyond.
Like this? Share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.… Continue reading »
What’s working in Minnesota?
Posted October 29, 2013
Consider what life is like in our neighboring states in the upper Midwest.
To the south, in Iowa, farm and rural activists are fighting off factory farms at every turn. Farther away, Illinois is continually facing a looming financial crisis. To the west, North Dakota continues trying to limit a woman’s freedom to choose by passing the most restrictive anti-choice laws in the country. And to the east, Wisconsin state government resembles that of Mississippi, restricting the right to vote and sitting idle as its health care costs skyrocket.
Meanwhile, here in Minnesota the list of populist accomplishments in the last 12 months is long and impressive… being the first state to defeat both the Voter Restriction and Anti-Gay Marriage Amendments, turning around six months later to pass Marriage Equality, passing historic Ban the Box legislation, Homeowner’s Bill of Rights, The Dream Act, increased progressive revenue and closed corporate tax loopholes, and expanded and strengthened health care coverage. The list goes on.
What’s working in Minnesota that we are breaking through the same barriers that are holding other states back?
For one thing, nothing that has happened here in Minnesota has happened overnight. For years, organizers and activists have laid the groundwork for what just recently emerged as a grassroots movement. … Continue reading »
Sarah Greenfield, 1.3 million Minnesotans
Posted May 29, 2013
2013 was an incredible legislative session to be part of the movement for universal healthcare in Minnesota.
Many years we find ourselves on the defense, working as hard as we can just to keep the public health care programs we have, forced to choose just one priority in order to win anything, with little or no additional capacity to think about the long term and move forward. This was not that year, but it wasn’t a cake-walk either.
Real people stepped up and stepped forward into the weedy, wonky world of “health insurance exchange” policy and wrestled it into a simple, urgent message: “People At The Center.” Rather than leaving it to “the experts,” Minnesotans called, emailed, and visited legislators and the Dayton administration to make sure that Minnesota’s new exchange, now called MNsure, was built to serve the needs of people who need healthcare, not the industry that profits off selling it. This meant fighting back the top priorities of big insurance companies in order to keep people on the payroll of big insurance off of our MNsure board, and to allow MNsure to negotiate with insurers for the best plans and the best prices.
At the same time, a strong alliance of diverse organizations worked with the Dayton administration and legislature to make sure that federal health care reform would maintain and expand MinnesotaCare into a model program for states around the country.… Continue reading »
Dan McGrath, Getting From No to Yes
Posted May 23, 2013
“This campaign has lit a grassroots fire that has swept our state. We want a politics that happens by us, and not to us… Tonight I’m so happy to say we closed the chapter on no and we opened the chapter on yes – yes to a future where Minnesota unites in active grassroots democracy.”
Remember that? Election night 2012. Against all odds, an amazing grassroots movement defeated two harmful amendments and elected a progressive majority to the Capitol. We were on cloud nine. But we also knew we hadn’t won anything yet.
But what happened next? You refused to go away. The grassroots movement that started last fall got even stronger, and won a long list of populist achievements in this legislative session. A new health care exchange that puts people at the center. Ban the Box legislation that takes a step toward closing the racial jobs gap. Fairer taxation that closes corporate tax loopholes and invests in all-day kindergarten and a stronger MinnesotaCare. And those are just the issues TakeAction Minnesota focused on most. Our friends and allies led the way, passing marriage equality, the DREAM Act, the Homeowners Bill of Rights, the right to organize for personal care attendants and childcare workers…and on and on…and on.We… Continue reading »
Elizabeth Lienesch, Fixing the sharing problem
Posted April 17, 2013
I recently attended a superhero themed birthday party for a 3 year old. Imagine dozens of kids in capes, masks, and tights of all colors. Yes, it was a cute as it sounds. During this party, as cake was doled out and presents were opened, I watched parent after parent explain the concept of sharing to their kids. At one point, I overheard a parent say to their 3 year old, “we share so that everyone can have a good time.”
It’s time for corporations in our state to learn this lesson of sharing. For too long, corporations have failed to pay their fair share, and have instead been taking advantage of every opportunity they can to keep more and more money for themselves.
Let’s look at the real life examples of this in our state. We have corporations like Verizon paying 0% state income tax. We have companies like Wells Fargo using tax loopholes to stash money tax-free in Cayman Island shell companies. And we are just recently learning more about the millions of dollars in excess reserves that the four biggest HMOs in Minnesota are sitting on. That’s money that they’ve made from running our public health care programs that isn’t being spent on care.… Continue reading »
