Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton finally pulled the trigger on Tuesday, October 25 and called on Democrats and Republicans to hold a special session.
Let’s hope the two sides agree to meet with the governor.
Topping the mountain of subjects to take care of is the Affordable Care Act. If nothing is done, premiums are set to skyrocket in January.
Four years ago the governor was in Grand Marais, and I asked him what he thought of the proposed law. His response was refreshing. He said he didn’t understand how the administration could tell the public the affordable care act was going to save people money when the goal was to ensure 25 more million Americans who at the time couldn’t afford to pay for health insurance.
Understand, the governor didn’t say he was against the act. He thought it should be sold to the public in a more forthright manner.
Which leads us to the current mess we are all in. Minnesota has been hit with a 59 percent increase on its individual health insurance market, making it the fourth largest increase in the country only behind Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Arizona. Along with that, Blue Cross Blue Shield pulled out of the individual market earlier this year, leaving consumers with few insurance companies to select from.
Health insurance is getting beyond the reach of most people who aren’t covered by their work. And that is quite a few individuals.
Earlier this week Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk was in the county, meeting with various groups to find out what they needed from him. When asked what he heard from his constituents in his neck of the woods about the proposed health insurance rate increases, he answered unequivocally, “People are calling me and asking me to fix this. It doesn’t matter if they are Democrats, Republicans, whoever. They all want the same thing. They want us to address the rising cost of their health insurance.”
But Senator Bakk wasn’t sure if the special session would happen. He said the speaker of the house was saying the Affordable Care Act was a Democrat problem.
To that point, Governor Dayton responded, “Last week I said that the Affordable Care Act ‘is no longer affordable to increasing numbers of people.’ I regret that my statement was wrongly used against Democratic candidates in Minnesota and elsewhere…
Dayton went on to say, “For the 95 percent of Minnesotans who are covered through the Medicaid expansion, MinnesotaCare, or their employer, the law is working. It’s working for the 3 percent, who qualify for the federal tax credits through MNsure. But the law isn’t working well for the 2 percent of Minnesotans in the individual market, who don’t receive any financial assistance to pay for their coverage.”
But, he added, “In this emergency for some Minnesotans and their families, I am hopeful that DFL and Republican legislators will be able to set aside the politics of the Affordable Care Act, work together, and find a short-term solution for those in crisis. During the past couple of weeks, some legislative leaders have said a special session is critical. It is now time to walk the talk and agree upon a solution to provide much-needed relief.”
Governor Dayton then outlined a plan where the four Caucus leaders and their members would work with his administration to devise a plan of action for Minnesotans who are not eligible for federal tax credits.
He called on a timeline, “That plan should be agreed upon before November 1st so that the Minnesotans needing our help can know what it will be before the Open Enrollment Period begins,” said Dayton. “After the four Caucuses have agreed upon a plan and their four leaders, the lt. governor, and I have agreed to the parameters of a special session, I will call it.”
His solution isn’t permanent but would help individuals and families for the immediate future. “I propose that the approximately $313 million, which is scheduled to be added to the existing $1.9 billion reserve on December 2nd, be instead used to provide financial assistance to those Minnesotans whose premium increases would cost an excessive percentage of their incomes. The reserve is intended for ‘Rainy Days.’ Right now, it is pouring on some Minnesotans. Fortunately, our previous budget surpluses and sound fiscal management have built up this healthy $1.9 billion reserve, thus enabling us to use the additional money for this present emergency.”
Dayton’s plan seeks to close the doughnut hole—those middle-class families who can’t afford to pay the increase in health insurance rates. “There are 120,000 Minnesotans who purchase on the individual market, and whose incomes exceed the federal eligibility levels (400 percent of the poverty level, or $47,000 for an individual and $97,000 for a family of four). These are the Minnesotans who urgently need our help,” he said.
Meanwhile, Republicans are calling for something called a reinsurance pool, which covers people with the highest cost of care. It’s modeled after the Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association Act which ended when the Affordable Care Act came along. Alaska currently has its version of this, and supposedly it is working well.
For now, the two sides need to come together with the governor and agree to find workable solutions to alleviate this mess. After all, as Bakk said, it doesn’t affect just Democrats, nor Republicans or independents, it affects everyone. And for some, the Affordable Care Act is making them sick. Sick with worry that they won’t be able to pay for any health insurance if the costs continue to rise.
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