Health coverage: Who will be covered? A court will decide

06/30/2005

Pat Doyle,
Star Tribune
June 30, 2005

Attorney General Mike Hatch and the Pawlenty administration sparred Wednesday over the extent to which Minnesotans would be covered under subsidized health programs should a partial government shutdown happen.

The dispute, which will be the subject of a court hearing today, centers around a June 23 court order that all Medical Assistance, General Assistance Medical Care and MinnesotaCare payments would continue in the event of a shutdown.

Hatch said that despite the order, the Department of Human Services didn’t update a letter sent to medical assistance recipients telling them they might not be covered in a shutdown.

“Whoever got notified that they couldn’t go to a clinic ought to be notified that they can go to a clinic,” Hatch said.

A Human Services memo dated June 15 told how 357,000 notices would be sent to recipients of MinnesotaCare, Medical Assistance and General Assistance Medical Care “explaining how their health care may be affected” by a shutdown.

A notice sent to MinnesotaCare recipients read in part: “If state government shuts down on July 1, we may not be able to pay your health plan in July. We have asked your health plan to continue to give you services.” The notice advised recipients to continue to use their regular medical providers and to call their health plan if they had questions. “Do not call the state office,” it continued. “No one will be here to answer your questions.”

The department classified some providers as critical and said they would be funded during a shutdown but classified other contractors as non-critical. The administration asked all providers to continue to provide services and said it would reimburse the contractors deemed non-critical after the budget impasse is resolved, said Brian McClung, press secretary for the governor.

He denied that the designations were likely to threaten health care for patients who rely on the programs. The administration would defend the department’s designation of critical providers and non-critical ones at the court hearing today, he said.

Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court, Judge Gregg Johnson ordered the department to send new notices saying all Medical Assistance, General Assistance Medical Care and MinnesotaCare payments are considered critical and will be funded.

Eric Lipman, an administration attorney, told the judge that the department understood that “this is a fluid situation” and that new directives might be issued.

“I believe it is important that notices be sent,” said Deputy Attorney General Kristine Eiden, according to a court transcript.