Senator John Marty to Speak at Health Care Policy Event June 16th

06/15/2009

Rochester, MN -- Minnesota State Senator John Marty will be in Rochester on Tuesday, June 16th to discuss the Minnesota Health Plan (MHP), a plan which would provide comprehensive health Insurance for all Minnesotans.

The Minnesota Health Plan would provide comprehensive health insurance for all Minnesotans, allow them to continue using their current doctor and health care facility, and would rely on public financing.

"Most reform proposals treat health care as something to be bought and sold when it should be seen as a community need.” said Senator Marty, “Like police and fire protection, everybody needs health care."

Senator Marty, chief author of the MHP, will by joined by Mark Liebow, M.D., a Rochester internist and health policy expert, for an in-depth look at the plan and its implications for health care providers and patients.

The event, sponsored by the Olmsted County DFL is free and open to the public. It will be held Tuesday, June 16 at 7 PM at the IBEW Hall, 9 E. 80th St, SE, Rochester, just off U.S. Highway 63.

There will be time for questions and discussion following the presentation.

Contact:

Mark Liebow, M.D., 280-6032

Lynn Wilson, 259-5162, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Jennifer Harveland, 261-4239, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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WHAT IS THE MINNESOTA HEALTH PLAN?


The MN Health Plan (MnHP) would be a single, statewide plan that would cover all Minnesotans for all their medical needs. Under the plan, patients would be able to see the medical providers of their choice when they need care, and their coverage by the health plan would not end when they lose their job or switch to a new employer. Consumers would use the same doctors and medical professionals, the same hospitals and clinics, but all the payments, covering all of the costs, would be made by the MnHP, and everyone would be covered.

The plan would be funded by all Minnesotans, based on the ability to pay, and would cover all health care costs, replacing all premiums currently paid by employees and employers, as well as all co-payments, deductibles, all payments for care by the uninsured or under-insured, and all costs of government health care programs.

Although the MN Health Plan is not cheap, it is significantly less expensive than our current system, and it would provide a full range of health care services to everyone, greatly improving the health of the population.

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