State of Minnesota Archives: on Health Care
Scott Jensen:
COVID: Opposes ineffective mask mandates
Jensen does say he opposes mask mandates because he believes anything less than an N-95 mask is largely ineffective. "We should get rid of the mask mandate at this point in time,"
he says. "If people want to wear a mask they should wear a mask...wearing a cloth mask or surgical mask, these were never intended to stop viral particle transmission."
Source: KSTP-TV on 2022 Minnesota Gubernatorial Race
Mar 11, 2021
Scott Jensen:
Not an anti-vaxxer, but the patient gets to choose
[On COVID-19]: "When people call me an anti-vaxxer, I think that's sort of remarkable considering my children are fully vaccinated. I doubt that there are a whole lot of Minnesotans who purchase vaccines as my family," he said. "I'm just really
a strong arm. I think the patient gets to choose. You can't tell me the vaccine is safe for me. You can decide if it's safe for you."
Source: Southwest News Media on 2022 Minnesota Gubernatorial Race
Mar 11, 2021
Mike Murphy:
Protect pre-existing conditions; more pricing transparency
Mike will always support protecting individuals with pre-existing conditions, especially those affected by COVID-19. No matter what comes of the Affordable Care Act, Mike will always fight to ensure those who need health coverage will receive care.
Price transparency, in addition to access to information about quality, empowers patients to shop for the most effective, lowest-cost health care available. It also drives prices down as health care providers compete for market share. The promise of
cost control through consumer empowerment has made transparency an objective among legislatures.
MinnesotaCare & Medical Assistance programs must be continuously monitored. Mike believes our healthcare experts & legislators need to re-evaluate income
requirements to join these programs. Due to high costs, most small businesses cannot afford to offer their employees health insurance. Mike proposes expanding these programs to small businesses and sole proprietors who cannot provide healthcare coverage.
Source: 2022 Minnesota governor campaign website MikeMurphyForMN.com
Feb 16, 2021
Jason Lewis:
Enhanced medically screening of all international travelers
We must not only control our borders but also reconsider the cavalier way in which international travel takes place to and from the United States. Adopting a practice of enhanced medically screening of all international travelers
on a permanent and routine basis amounts to far less inconvenience. We did it for terrorism; it's now time to do it for the third leading cause of death in the United States, infectious disease.
Source: 2020 Minnesota Senate campaign website LewisForMN.com
Jul 8, 2020
Steve Carlson:
Help people with pre-existing conditions
We must provide adequate protections for Americans against killer diseases like cancer, heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, MS, Alzheimers, etc., by research and by early detection and prevention and education, and by helping people with
pre-existing conditions. To do this we must overcome health disparities, where a group such as a race, nationality or culture, income class or gender is at greater risk for these killer diseases.
Source: KROC 1340-AM/96.9 FM on 2018 Minnesota Senate race
Jul 5, 2019
Jeff Johnson:
ObamaCare was sold as reform & there was no reform in it
Q: Support or Repeal Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka ObamaCare? Accept ACA's Medicaid expansion to subsidize low-income participants?Jeff Johnson (R): Repeal. Says the ACA "was sold as reform & there was no reform in it." Wants to move toward "a more
free-market system."
Tim Walz (D): Support. Opposes attempts to roll back ACA. Believes single payer type system "is on Minnesota's horizon." Also supports allowing people to buy into programs like VA system, Medicaid & Medicare.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Minnesota Governor race
Oct 9, 2018
Tim Walz:
Single-payer system is on Minnesota's horizon
Q: Support or Repeal Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare)? Accept ACA's Medicaid expansion to subsidize low-income participants?Jeff Johnson (R): Repeal; move toward "a more free-market system."
Tim Walz (D): Support. Opposes attempts to roll back ACA.
Believes single payer type system "is on Minnesota's horizon," but need to control immediate costs, improve care, and support MinnesotaCare as best current option. Also supports allowing people to buy into programs like VA system, Medicaid & Medicare.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Minnesota Governor race
Oct 9, 2018
Jeff Johnson:
For multi state buying, selling insurance across state lines
Between the skyrocketing cost of health insurance and the declining lack of access, nearly every family has been impacted. I will work to return power over health care to patients and citizens and take advantage of federal waivers allowing Minnesota to
abandon the provisions of Obamacare that have limited choice and increased costs. I will also start negotiating with other Midwestern states to increase competition by creating an interstate compact to sell and buy insurance across state lines.
Source: 2018 Minnesota JohnsonForGovernor.org campaign website
Sep 1, 2018
Amy Klobuchar:
Allow sick people to obtain insurance
It would be hard to find two candidates further apart on issues than state Rep. Jim Newberger and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who are fighting for the six year seat in the U.S. Senate. In a debate at the Minnesota State Fair, Republican Newberger called
for a return to free-market health care, said he does not believe climate change is man-made and declared a wall is needed along the Mexican border.Democrat Klobuchar, meanwhile, told the Minnesota Public Radio debate
audience that federal laws such as allowing sick people to obtain insurance should be continued, said she agrees with a majority of scientists who think climate change is at least partly due to human activity and felt Mexican border security should be a
combination of a wall, fence and personnel.
In a rare area of agreement, Klobuchar and Newberger said the federal government needs to find a way to keep prescription medicine costs down.
Source: Twin Cities Pioneer Press on 2018 Minnesota Senate debate
Aug 24, 2018
Jim Newberger:
Opening up Medicare for anyone would cost $32 trillion
On health care, Newberger said that his 30 years as a paramedic give him a firsthand understanding of the issue. He said President Barack Obama moved the country to a health care system too heavily dependent on government. "We need to go back to a
free-market system."Additionally, he said government programs like MinnesotaCare, a state-run insurance for the working poor, need to remain in place as a "safety net for our most vulnerable," but in general, government needs to step away from
health care. Opening up Medicare for anyone who wants it would cost $32 trillion, Newberger suggested. That is a proposal many Democrats support.
Klobuchar, meanwhile, said the federal government must keep requiring insurers to
provide policies to people with pre-existing conditions. Another important provision, she added, is the ability to allow parents to keep children on their insurance until they are 26.
Source: Twin Cities Pioneer Press on 2018 Minnesota Senate debate
Aug 24, 2018
Karin Housley:
Buy health insurance like we do our car insurance
Calling it "one of the greatest failures of the Obama administration," Housley criticized ObamaCare: "One-size-fits-all from Washington, D.C., didn't work," Housley said. "We have to create a better health care system that doesn't increase
costs and it needs to be done right away."Housley said the system in place in Minnesota prior to ObamaCare was imperfect, but far superior to its successor. "It needed some tweaks," said Housley. "But to turn it all on its head and
all the bureaucracy--then another layer of bureaucracy, when Dayton and Smith created MnSure, that $90 million failure on top of it, it dug into people's pocket books."
Instead, Housley said, the state of
Minnesota and the nation as a whole should look at moving back toward a free-market system--"Where you buy health insurance like we do our car insurance," she said--or implementing a employer-based health saving plans.
Source: Brainerd Dispatch: 2017-8 Minnesota Special Senate Election
Jul 31, 2018
Lori Swanson:
Plans to make healthcare affordable and accessible to all
Health care costs--which comprise about 20% of the economy--are straining the budgets of too many families and businesses.˙ We need to make health care more affordable and accessible: Farmers, the self-employed, and everyone else should be able
to buy into Minnesota Care. Lori will lower prescription drug costs allowing Minnesotans to purchase prescriptions at reduced prices that the state pays to drug companies using its buying power.˙Lori will expand access to treatment for drug dependency.
Source: 2018 Minnesota governor campaign website LoriSwanson.com
Jul 4, 2018
Paula Overby:
Oppose ObamaCare; Medicare for all is a better path
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Expand ObamaCare"?
A: Oppose--The Affordable Care Act failed on a basic principle of mainly providing public subsidies to a failed health care system that is entirely focused on maximizing profits over any meaningful regard for public health.
I support an aggressive accounting of health care spending by this organization, expanding consumer protections and choice through cost transparency.
Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Minnesota Senate candidate
May 13, 2018
Jim Newberger:
Opposes ObamaCare
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Expand ObamaCare"?
A: Oppose.
Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Minnesota Senate candidate
Mar 15, 2018
Mark Dayton:
MinnesotaCare Buy-In: affordable choices for consumers
For 26 years, MinnesotaCare has given lower-income working families quality, affordable choices when purchasing their health insurance. I believe we should give all Minnesotans that option.
After its startup, the operating costs of this new "MinnesotaCare Buy-In" would be paid entirely by its members' premiums, so there's no ongoing expense to other taxpayers.
For some families, the MinnesotaCare Buy-In may offer better health care coverage at lower costs. That is exactly what competition is supposed to do for consumers.
Legislators have a very clear choice. They can side with big insurance companies, who don't want this competition; or they can side with Minnesotans, who do.
Source: 2018 Minnesota State of the State address
Mar 14, 2018
Karin Housley:
Examine and revamp failed health investigations
Sen. Housley is a strong advocate for seniors. During the hearing, she said "How long did the DOH know this was going on and cover it up? I have to say it's been disappointing to learn what's been happening for the last I don't know how many years."
The acting commissioner replied "We openly acknowledge that in recent years the Office of Health Facility Complaints really has not met the reasonable and appropriate expectations when it comes to investigating maltreatment complaints."
Source: LetFreedomRingBlog.com on 2017-8 Minnesota special election
Jan 28, 2018
Rebecca Otto:
Health care is a human right
The healthcare crisis is driven by many factors. Working with state and national health care experts,
Rebecca Otto has a plan to achieve universal, affordable, comprehensive, guaranteed, publicly financed health care.
Source: 2018 Minnesota Gubernatorial website RebeccaOtto.com
Nov 1, 2017
Jim Newberger:
Repeal ObamaCare, by any method
If Newberger already served in the U.S. Senate he said he would have voted to repeal ObamaCare, an effort that fell short of a few votes on multiple occasions this year.
Any repeal, Newberger said, "is a good step in the right direction."
Source: The St. Cloud Times on 2018 Minnesota Senate race
Aug 7, 2017
Matt Dean:
Repeal MNSure; it has harmed thousands
Petition to Repeal MNSure and Restore Affordable Healthcare to All Minnesotans:- Whereas MNsure has harmed thousands of Minnesota families by kicking them off of the healthcare insurance which they qualified for and were properly enrolled in, and
harmed others by enrolling them in Medicaid without warning them that the government would be placing liens against their estate;
-
Whereas MNSure has cost taxpayers over $250 million to build and still does not work nearly half of the time, and has stressed out, and harassed thousands more with erroneous and unnecessary letters , and
- Whereas other hardworking Minnesota families
are struggling to get and pay for health insurance made all the more expensive by the expansion of MNSure,
- I, the undersigned do call upon the Governor of Minnesota to seek approval from all necessary state and federal agencies to repeal MNSure.
Source: 2018 Minnesota gubernatorial campaign website MattDean.com
May 2, 2017
Tina Liebling:
ObamaCare was a valiant attempt but did not go far enough
Too many Minnesotans can't get the care they need when they need it. People should not have to worry about getting the health care they need because of the cost.The Affordable Care Act was a valiant attempt to improve a failing insurance system.
While it has done a lot of good, it did not go far enough. A system based on insurance will always be costly, complicated, and wasteful for patients, doctors, and employers. "Preserving the market" for insurance is the wrong goal. Our goal must be
making sure that every Minnesotan can access quality health care at a price they can afford.
We waste billions of dollars deciding who gets care, how much, and at what price--instead of paying for the care we need. Minnesota can lead the nation in
moving toward a system where people can choose who provides their health care but don't have to deal with insurance companies. Some call this "single payer." Whatever we call it, we need to remove the barriers between Minnesotans and health care.
Source: 2018 Minnesota governor campaign website TinaLiebling.com
May 2, 2017
Erin Murphy:
Allow only non-profit insurers to do business in the state
Debate opened with a motion to send back to conference committee provisions allowing for-profit insurers to do business in Minnesota. "Premiums would likely increase with for-profits because they are profit-seekers," said the Senator introducing the
motion, adding that there is no evidence that welcoming for-profit carriers into the state will stabilize the market.Rep. Erin Murphy spoke in favor of sending the bill back to conference committee to strip out the for-profit provisions.
She said legislators were unprepared to vote on changing the state's 40-year policy of allowing only non-profit insurers to do business in the state. No health plans or academic health experts testified in either the regular or
conference committee to explain the changes to lawmakers, she said. "We really don't really know what this means," she said
Source: PoliticsInMinnesota.com on 2018 Minnesota Gubernatorial race
Jan 26, 2017
Mark Dayton:
Allow only non-profit insurers to do business in the state
Debate opened with a motion to send back to conference committee provisions allowing for-profit insurers to do business in Minnesota. "Premiums would likely increase with for-profits because they are profit-seekers," said the Senator introducing the
motion, adding that there is no evidence that welcoming for-profit carriers into the state will stabilize the market.Rep. Erin Murphy spoke in favor of sending the bill back to conference committee to strip out the for-profit provisions.
She said legislators were unprepared to vote on changing the state's 40-year policy of allowing only non-profit insurers to do business in the state. "We really don't really know what this means," she said.
Dayton echoed that point in his written statement. "I ask the Legislature to seriously re-evaluate this provision when future health care legislation is considered," the governor said.
Source: PoliticsInMinnesota.com on 2018 Minnesota Gubernatorial race
Jan 26, 2017
Mark Dayton:
Preserve successes like Medicaid expansion & MinnesotaCare
ObamaCare has had some very important successes. During the last three years, over 250,000 Minnesotans have gained health care coverage. Nearly 96% now have health insurance. There are important features of the Affordable Care Act, which must be
preserved. They include requiring health insurers to offer coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions.
We must also protect the Medicaid expansion and MinnesotaCare that have provided lifelines for 300,000 Minnesotans, as well as many
rural hospitals and clinics. And parents should remain able to cover their children under their policies until they reach age 26.
It is also essential to protect the quality of coverage Minnesotans have gained under the Affordable Care Act. ObamaCare
now requires that insurance plans must include 10 essential health benefits: outpatient care, hospitalization, maternity, pediatric care, mental health, emergency, preventive, laboratory, and rehabilitative services, and prescriptions.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to Minnesota Legislature
Jan 23, 2017
Jason Lewis:
We've seen the system collapse under MNSure & ObamaCare
ObamaCare promised to reduce health insurance premiums by as much as $2,500 per family. Today, however, premiums are $4,865 higher, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation report. Because ObamaCare mandated the most expensive coverage for everyone,
young people, as well as smaller insurers, have been priced out of the market. Right here in Minnesota we've seen the system collapse under MNSure, and this year's premium price increases may reach 66 percent!
The net result is a health care system bursting at the seams as employers drop costly coverage and dump part-timers onto bureaucratic 'exchanges' while providers refuse new patients due to government price controls. ObamaCare even reduced the
amount of out-of-pocket health expenses families could deduct. Let's empower healthcare consumers by undoing the costly ACA 'mandates,' allowing individuals to buy policies across state lines, and enacting true portability by changing the tax code.
Source: 2016 Minnesota House campaign website JasonLewis2016.com
Nov 8, 2016
Tina Smith:
Pushed state subsidy for the expansion of the Mayo Clinic
In 2013, Dayton put her in charge of lobbying legislators to pass a state subsidy for the expansion of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, a massive economic development project. After months of political wrangling, Smith and a team of
other project supporters were successful, and her work prompted Dayton to appoint her to the board overseeing the construction effort in Rochester. Her fellow members of the board ultimately elected her chair.
"Her roles have been behind the scenes, but she's always been a person who's been about connecting governments to its partners on the outside,"
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said. "Tina is especially good at the people side of politics. She was able to really help build bridges."
Source: MinnPost.com on 2017-18 Minnesota Special Election
Feb 2, 2015
Tom Emmer:
Lost sister to breast cancer, but kept her upbeat attitude
A defining moment in Tom's life came in January of 2000 when he lost his sister, Bridget, to breast cancer.
Bridget's upbeat attitude about life is something Tom carries with him everyday.Family is why Tom Emmer entered the political arena nearly a decade ago.
Source: 2014 Minnesota House campaign website, EmmerForCongress.com
Oct 10, 2014
Jim Abeler:
ObamaCare risks access to care, ironically
Question topic: It is the government's responsibility to be sure everyone has health care and a livable income.Abeler: Strongly Disagree
Question topic: The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) should be repealed by Congress.
Abeler: Strongly Agree
Question topic: Briefly list political or legislative issues of most concern to you.
Abeler: Healthcare: ACA/ObamaCare has adversely affected cost and quality of our care, and ironically even risks access to care.
Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 Minnesota Senate race
Jul 2, 2014
Jim Abeler:
Big companies benefit from ObamaCare but not regular people
This month when the defects in President Obama's rhetoric and rollout of his signature domestic-policy initiative became all too apparent, Abeler came to mind. A chiropractor by profession, Abeler knows health care. He's spent more time at the
intersection of government and health than anyone else in the 2014 Senate race. He allowed that the problem with ObamaCare is that it's too much like the Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association (MCHA). That was Legislaturespeak, so he translated to
Candidate-ese: "The cost of extending insurance to everybody under ObamaCare is on the backs of the individual and small-group market. That's not fair. All the big people got carved out--big hospitals, big medicine, big companies, big pharma.
They're all good to go. Who isn't? The small businesses are getting pounded, and the people who are hearing that their policies are being canceled." He's sure he could help design something better.
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune on 2014 Minnesota Senate race
Nov 23, 2013
Jim Abeler:
Preventative care; coordinated treatment; low-income clinics
If the issue is ability to craft a "temperate Republican" way forward on health care--and Abeler thinks it will be--he's ready. He thinks his party's fixation on repealing the Affordable Care Act should give way to concrete ideas gleaned from the state
where health care works--not Massachusetts this time, but Minnesota."We need to import Minnesota ideas into the health system. It's pricing in a way that looks at the total cost of care. It's medical homes that coordinate treatment.
It's caring for low-income people through community clinics. It's covering preventative care. We take that as normal--but it's not the norm around the country.
"ObamaCare went wrong when it focused entirely on access, and not on cost and quality.
Now we have to address cost and quality, or the access won't be there, either. In Minnesota, we know how to do that. I've been part of making that happen."
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune on 2014 Minnesota Senate race
Nov 23, 2013
Mike McFadden:
We need an alternative to ObamaCare, not just repeal
Q: How would you address ObamaCare?A: I have great concerns about the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Even Democratic senators have said it's going to be a train wreck. I am as frustrated with the Republican Party in that we have not
come forward with a solution, an alternative solution to health care. It's not enough just to say no to ObamaCare. We need to provide an alternative. And we will, and we're working on that.
Q: The Senate has taken votes to just repeal it straight up
without a replacement on the other end. How would you have voted on that?
A: I would have had to look at all the options on the table, but I would have been adamant that we need a solution. Repeal ObamaCare, but here's a solution. The fact that
there's people with pre-existing conditions that can't get access to health care, that have participated in the system, that have been good citizens, that's wrong. We have to address more than just repeal.
Source: Minneapolis Post on 2014 Minnesota Senate race
Jul 15, 2013
Tim Pawlenty:
Terminate GAMC Medicare Care and fold into MinnesotaCare
Excerpts from lawsuit: Plaintiffs are receiving General Assistance Medical Care. GAMC provides essential medical services to the poorest of the poor in Minnesota. The Minnesota Legislature proposes to terminate the GAMC program effective
April 1, 2010, via the Governor's unilateral decision to unallot $15,879,000 from the GAMC appropriation for fiscal year 2010. Plaintiffs seek to prevent the defunding of the program. Although the Minnesota Department of Human Services does propose to
transition GAMC recipients to another state-operated medical program, the proposed transition leaves so many gaps in coverage that the named plaintiffs and other GAMC recipients will be irreparably harmed unless the Court intervenes.
Explanation of line-item veto: Gov. Pawlenty signed an unallotment line-item veto on GAMC effective April 1, 2010; this lawsuit attempted to undo that veto. Pawlenty won the lawsuit; GAMC enrollees were transferred to MinnesotaCare.
Source: Minnesota legislative voting records:chap.256D.03
Apr 1, 2010
Tom Emmer:
Medical care is not a responsibility of state government
Emmer indicates support of the following principles regarding health. - Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
-
Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality.
Source: Minnesota Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test
Nov 1, 2008
Tim Pawlenty:
Supports market-driven healthcare reform
[We must] work together to pass health care reform that is market-driven, restores the relationship between doctors and patients, and uses savings from the system to hold down the cost of health care premiums.
Source: 2008 State of the State speech to Minnesota legislature
Feb 13, 2008
Robert Fitzgerald:
Opposes single-payer coverage because it’s a liability
Fitzgerald said he doesn’t have a silver bullet to fix the system. “I do know what several options are -- including looking at universal health care and single-payer coverage, which I’m not in favor of because it’s a liability going forward,”
Fitzgerald said. “I also know we can take a look at this situation from a consumer-driven model as well, but I don’t know what the answer is to fixing health care in the United States.”
Source: Minnesota Public Radio, “Senate Health”
Oct 6, 2006
Robert Fitzgerald:
Sever health care coverage from employment
On the issue of health care costs and insuring more people, Fitzgerald says he wants to sever health care coverage from employment. He says workers then won’t lose their coverage when they lose their jobs.
Source: Minnesota Public Radio, “Senate Health”
Oct 6, 2006
Norm Coleman:
Favors some type of universal coverage
Q: What would you do to help small business with the cost of providing health care?A: You’ve got to figure out a way to get it done. Paul Wellstone’s been there for twelve years and for twelve years and it hasn’t gotten done. Even if you allow
businesses the opportunity to consolidate, with all the mandates you have, health care is still not going to be affordable.
Coleman said government needs to work with businesses to develop a plan, and that he would favor some type of universal coverage
Source: Minnesota Public Radio, Senatorial debates
Oct 21, 2002
Mark Dayton:
Expand Medicare Rx coverage & other coverage
My plan for universal health care is based on the belief that our society should provide and finance good health care for all Americans. I support making health insurance premiums tax deductible for individuals and the self-employed immediately.
In order to lower the cost of health insurance, purchasing pools would be established. I will continue to support the health care systems we have in place such as Medicaid, Medicare and Veterans health benefits
and will work to expand coverage and benefits where most needed. The centerpiece of my agenda is the expansion of Medicare coverage for prescription drugs for all seniors. My plan will also provide discounts of at least 10%
on all prescription drugs so that all Americans will benefit. I believe that efforts should be made to correct the inequities of Medicare reimbursement rates between urban and rural areas.
Source: Minnesota Newspaper Association Election Questionnaire
Jul 2, 2000
Page last updated: Oct 13, 2021