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Health & Wellness

A Health Plan That Covers Everyone and Saves Money

By Sen. John Marty, Workday Minnesota. Posted March 7, 2008.


Most health care reform proposals fall far short -- here is a plan that will actually work.
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ST. PAUL - Two years ago, Massachusetts made national headlines for passing "universal health care" legislation. In reality, they did no such thing. Even proponents of the Massachusetts plan admit it will not cover everyone. They are hoping only that 95% of the people will eventually have some form of insurance. And their legislation does not help families who have insurance but still cannot get needed medical care.

In Minnesota and around the country, politicians talk about health care for everyone. But the reform proposals most of them work on fall far short of their promise.

The health care crisis is getting worse. Minnesota's record is better than most states, but out of 5 million Minnesotans, about 400,000 do not have any health insurance, and over a million more are people with insurance who still cannot afford to pay their medical bills due to co-payments, deductibles, and treatment not covered by their insurance.

About a third of the population puts off needed medical care because of difficulty paying the bills. There are serious consequences, often deadly ones, when people don't get the care they need. The National Academy of Sciences estimates that the lack of health coverage results in about 18,000 deaths per year in the U.S. That's six times as many people as died in the September 11th attacks.

After watching governors and legislators study the health care problem year after year, and seeing only patches applied to our broken system, I believe it is time for Minnesota to make a bold commitment to fix the problem.

We are long overdue for real health care reform. Before mapping out a reform strategy it is important to set the direction where we are headed. We want to make sure every Minnesotan gets health care. We want to make sure they get the care they need, including things like dental care. And we want to improve public health so people don't need as much medical care.

Along with over 50 other legislators, I have authored legislation to reach those goals.

Our proposal would create the MN Health Plan, a single, statewide plan that would cover all Minnesotans for all their medical needs. Equally important, it would reduce the need for costly medical care through prevention and early intervention, education, and public health programs.

Under the plan, patients would be able to see the doctor of their choice, and their coverage would not end when they lose their job or switch to a new employer. Dental care, prescription drugs, optometry, mental health services, chemical dependency treatment, medical equipment and supplies would all be covered.

Consumers would stay with the same doctors and medical professionals, the same hospitals and clinics, with all payments being made by the MN Health Plan (MHP). There would be no complex application forms, no worrying about pre-existing conditions disqualifying anyone, no worrying about whether the needed treatment was covered, and no problem of patients going without their prescriptions.

The MN Health Plan would be prohibited from reducing the quality of care, or restricting, delaying, or denying it to save money. Instead it would lower health spending through prevention, efficiency and the elimination of unnecessary paperwork. The MHP would return medical decision-making to the doctor and patient, removing health insurance companies from determining treatment.


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Excellent Idea ...
Posted by: mmckinl on Mar 7, 2008 8:45 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We need it nation wide ... Medicare for everyone ...

We all know the problem, special interests, otherwise we would have had this years ago.

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Don't fly in small planes.
Posted by: pangolin on Mar 8, 2008 12:19 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The powers that be have no problem killing people by keeping the current health care system profitable for the few and a nightmare for the many. What's one more death, yours, to those people.

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too little too late...
Posted by: undrgrndgirl on Mar 9, 2008 5:40 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
for my soul mate...he is one of the 18,000 that died in 2007 largely due to a lack of medical insurance.

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Universal vs. Mandatory
Posted by: elidude420 on Mar 9, 2008 8:45 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Massachusetts did not create Universal Health Care. They created a Health Insurance Mandate. People who declined or did not receive health insurance through their employer faced monetary penalties at tax time if they did not purchase an individual policy.

Why is AlterNet parroting the line?

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Good luck
Posted by: walldodger1969 on Mar 10, 2008 1:42 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You'll need it.

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Surely you do not think that anything
Posted by: paula.c on Mar 10, 2008 5:36 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
that happened on our departed Govenor Romney's watch was good. He was the WORST Govenor we have had. And there are Massachsetts Republicans that said they could have voted for him for President. Thank heavens he lost! The best solution would be Medicare from cradle to grave.

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Wake Me Up, I Must Be Dreaming
Posted by: debjbaba on Mar 11, 2008 12:30 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Someone actually has a plan that makes sense and would cover everyone in MN? Please, let it be and let it spread to the whole country. The state of our medical institution is appalling.

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