On February 18, the Minnesota House and Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation to restore General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) coverage for 16 months and provide basic health care to more than 85,000 low-income Minnesotans. Unfortunately, Gov. Pawlenty, in a continued and troubling display of his budgeting priorities, vetoed the bill. Last week, our efforts to override his veto fell short, with an 86-47 vote, although a future reconsideration vote is still a possibility.
The GAMC program is scheduled to expire on April 1st and the Department of Human Services (DHS) is moving ahead, per the Governor’s instructions, to auto-enroll recipients in the ill-suited MinnesotaCare program.
The legislative solution, Senate File 2168, was drafted after months of discussion and compromise with key advocates and interest groups. It restored the GAMC program for 16 months in a financially responsible manner by instituting system reforms, including a coordinated care delivery option, mental health urgent care, and rapid access to psychiatry. Other cost-cutting measures, including the tightening of eligibility guidelines and provider rate cuts, made the temporary program less expensive to run. Hospitals and other providers recognize that action is needed and despite the difficulties presented by the funding mechanism were supportive of this model. Their support was based on the reality that the alternative, uncompensated care provided in emergency rooms, affects everyone in the form of higher health care premiums, higher medical costs, and higher property taxes.
The Legislature’s solution is significantly less expensive and more cost-effective than Gov. Pawlenty’s proposal to auto-enroll GAMC recipients into MinnesotaCare. The Governor’s plan would provide care to 21,000 Minnesotans per month at a cost of $937 per enrollee for six months, while our legislative solution would provide care to 38,000 per month at a cost of $457 per enrollee for 16 months. More specifically, the Governor’s plan would impose a $10,000 cap on inpatient care, a four-month waiting period for coverage, and a monthly premium on a population that earns less than $8,000 per year. In short, the Governor’s proposal is not a solution.
To paraphrase the bill's author, Rep. Erin Murphy (DFL-65A), our state may be short on resources, but we're rich on conscience. Minnesotans who receive GAMC benefits all earn less than $8,000 per year. Eighty percent have mental health issues and 60 percent have chronic medical conditions. The House gallery on the day of our debate included several veterans, who are representative of the 8,000 veterans served by this program. This legislative solution was designed as a step in the direction of stable housing, employment, and health for a vulnerable portion of our population.
Key House and Senate leaders are continuing negotiations with the Governor’s office and it is possible that outside organizations will mount legal efforts to try to stop the auto-enrollment process. Please be assured that I will continue to fight for this fiscally and morally responsible bill.
