| Dangerous Health Care Bill Approaching Governor's Desk |
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| Written by Dan McGrath |
| Wednesday, 16 April 2008 09:10 |
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The bill will be an amalgam of House File 3391 and Senate File 3099, each passed by their respective houses and now in conference committee.
This legislation imposes over forty million dollars in new taxes and fees, new government bureaucracies, intra-agency government access to private medical records and intrudes into personal health care decisions.
The bill will likely result in increased insurance premiums, drive higher health care expenses and add thousands more people to medical welfare programs by paying a bounty to organizations who recruit new state dependents. A family of 4 earning up to $60,000 a year will qualify for health insurance welfare under this bill. Under this plan, the government will track the body mass index of all children through the public school system and will use tax dollars for behavior modification initiatives. A number of other privacy and freedom issues also arise from this legislation.
The costs of complying with the new regulations imposed by this bill will especially threaten rural hospitals and clinics. Medical facilities in greater Minnesota may be forced to cut back services or close down entirely.
The bill lays the groundwork for a total government takeover of health care in Minnesota.
Governor Pawlenty has been eager to improve access and affordability of health care in Minnesota. He has attempted to work with the legislature to craft a bill that respects market demands and protects patients' rights. But the bill that has emerged from the legislative process fails to deliver on these objectives.
A legislature determined to give government more control over health care has created a monstrous bill that greatly expands the state’s role in health care and creates new, powerful government agencies to dictate the kinds of insurance and even the types of treatments that will be available to patients.
Only Governor Pawlenty now stands between this bill and your family's health care. Action Alert: Contact Governor Pawlenty and urge him to veto the health care 'reform' bill. Cross-posted at Minnesota Majority. Comments welcome. |
A health care bill is likely to land on Governor Pawlenty's desk within the next week, containing provisions including "Health Insurance Access Brokers" or “Super Broker” (a more complex version of the controversial Health Insurance Exchange), new taxes, fees and government bureaucracies.
