Last Thursday evening the Minnesota House – controlled and dominated by GOP legislators led by Speaker Kurt Daudt, voted to pass HF-1. This bill was supposed to provide insurance premium relief to over 120,000 Minnesotans, who this year have to cope with HUGE INCREASES in payments for their health insurance. These are Minnesotans whose income is above the level where they qualify for subsidies – over 120,000 people. These are people like yourself who work hard, sometimes holding down more than one job to make ends meet, your neighbors, co-workers.
Instead of providing financial relief to these people who are victimized by health insurance companies outrageous raises of premiums, the GOP doubled down on their misery!
Gov. Dayton released this detailed response to the approval of HF-1 by GOP Legislators. It is shocking to read what they did.
Rep. Masin voted AGAINST this “relief” bill, and stated the following:
“A disastrous response to people who are concerned about obtaining health insurance to cover their healthcare. The Governor’s message gives some of the sordid details of the Republican bill that passed off the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday evening. What is the point of paying for health insurance if it doesn’t provide necessary coverage for anything? Why provide money to insurance companies that show no concern for people’s well being?
Please contact the Speaker of the House, legislators saying Minnesotans needs something that works for our residents. Please ask the Governor to keep fighting for Minnesotans and reject any legislation that makes things worse for Minnesotans.”
[Rep. Kurt Daudt: phone: 651-296-5364 Email: rep.kurt.daudt@house.mn]
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It took long years, many legislative battles, and even the untimely deaths of sick people who could not get health care to save their lives, to pass legislation that made health insurance affordable and insured health care accessible in Minnesota. Last night, the GOP in the MN House took Minnesota back to the dark years of nearly a decade ago!
THE WINNERS
Gov. Dayton’s letter lays out the case, point by point, how insurance companies come out the winners here!
They get from you the premiums, then they get the dollars allocated by the state to provide relief from the high premiums, and in addition, their obligation to provide coverage for your health care is drastically reduced.
THE LOSERS
Every Minnesotan is either directly having to cope with premiums that jumped skyhigh, or knows someone close who is affected by that.
But there is more to this! The bill also lays out the ground for future reductions of essential services and benefits to ALL MINNESOTANS, at all levels. The elimination of many services and the essential benefit cuts is a disaster for the health care of ALL Minnesotans.