Governor Pawlenty Should Veto Health & Human Services Bill

(St. Paul/Minneapolis) - In response to last night's passage of the omnibus Health and Human Services bill, HF 2614. Citizens' Council on Health Care (CCHC) advises Governor Tim Pawlenty to veto the bill.

"We're asking Governor Pawlenty to say NO to higher costs, capitation experiments that risk rationing care to patients, a new government patient surveillance system, and the implementation of ObamaCare in Minnesota," said Twila Brase, president of CCHC.

Areas of concern in the bill include:

• HIGHER COSTS - Increased costs due to expansion of Medicaid and increased hospital and HMO surcharges.
• NO ASSET LIMITS - No asset limits on former GAMC enrollees to be enrolled in Medicaid.
• EXPERIMENTATION - Risk of health care denials and rationing for patients placed in "total cost of care" capitated, payment-bundling Accountable Care Organization demonstration projects.
• "PUBLIC OPTION" - Foot-in-the-door establishment of a State "public option" government program through expansion of MinnesotaCare to firefighters and ambulance drivers without regard to income.
• PATIENT SURVEILLANCE - State data collection on women and children born in birth centers.
• OBAMACARE IMPLEMENTATION, including:
  • Creation of health care reform task force to implement federal reform.
  • Implementation of a federal high-risk pool.
  • Experimentation on Medicare patients using "bundled payment" demonstration projects.
  • Move to capitated (limited) payments for people with chronic conditions and for Medicaid recipients.
  • Expansion of the expensive and intrusive State Health Improvement Program through seeking federal wellness and prevention grants.
  • Plan to create government-based health insurance exchange to force citizens to purchase health insurance through government based system.
• PROVIDER TAX TRANSFER - transfer of MinnesotaCare Provider Taxes out of Health Care Access Fund into General Fund.