Majority harmed by loss of MinnesotaCare in rural areas
03/27/2005
Monday, March 21, 2005
By Dallas Sams - Morris Sun Tribune
Originally Published 3/19/05
A recent report from the nonpartisan, not-for-profit Center for Rural Policy and Development based in St. Peter, Minnesota, shows that as of December 2004, 59.4 percent of all MinnesotaCare beneficiaries reside in rural Minnesota. This is in contrast to census data that states only 41.6 percent of Minnesotans reside in rural Minnesota.
MinnesotaCare is a health plan for working Minnesotans and low-income children who do not have access to affordable health insurance. Enrollees pay a monthly premium based on their family’s income, size and number of family members covered. Other funding comes from a 2 percent tax on gross revenues of health care providers and a 1 percent premium tax on nonprofit health plans.
A disproportionate number of rural residents participate in MinnesotaCare because of the lower salaries and the fact that less than half of the small businesses in rural communities offer their employees health care insurance. According to a survey by the Kaiser Foundation and the Health Research and Education Trust, since 2003 employer health care insurance premiums jumped more than five times the rate of inflation.
Under the Republican budget cuts made in 2003, many people lost their MinnesotaCare coverage. While enrollment decreased all across the state, the loss of this benefit was more severe throughout rural Minnesota. Overall, rural Minnesota experienced a 12.7 percent decrease, while the metro area experienced an 8.8 percent decrease. When portioned by region, the greatest percentage decrease was experienced by Northern Minnesota, where the Northwest Initiative Fund region experienced a decrease of 17.8 percent and the Northland Initiative Fund region experienced a 15.5 percent decrease.
With Minnesota’s continuing budget deficits, Gov. Pawlenty is calling for more people to be cut off from MinnesotaCare. Almost 45,000 working Minnesotans and their children will gamble that they stay healthy.
Nationwide, more than 45 million are uninsured. They are forced to turn to hospital emergency rooms for even routine care. When people who do not have health insurance go to emergency rooms for care, the hospitals cannot turn them away and must provide care. The cost of that care falls onto local taxpayers.
When local governments need additional funds to care for uninsured people, this may require higher local taxes or budget cuts elsewhere.
By making MinnesotaCare available, the state provides families security, employers with employees who have health insurance, and keeps property taxes down.
Anyone who thinks working Minnesotans should have access to health insurance should call the governor’s office at 651-296-3391 and tell him you do not support his proposed cuts to MinnesotaCare.