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Mar 27, 2008 9:45 pm US/Central
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Major Health Care Bill Divides MN Senate Democrats
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
A major health care bill exposed cracks in the Senate's majority Democratic caucus before it passed on Thursday.
The package aims to revamp the way health care is provided and paid for in Minnesota, saving billions and bringing the state within a few percentage points of universal health care coverage. Criticism came from multiple angles during a three-plus-hour debate that revealed some uneasy Democrats.
"Under this system we are very likely to see winners and losers within our health care system," said Sen. Mary Olson, DFL-Bemidji, who compared the bill to the much maligned federal education law, No Child Left Behind, and said it could hurt her rural constituents.
"If a lot of us are real honest, we would admit that there are huge sections of this bill that we do not understand," said Sen. Sharon Erickson Ropes, DFL-Winona. "That's exactly my point."
Erickson Ropes and Olson were on the losing side of a 32-33 vote that would have stripped the bill of key provisions including the payment overhaul and a commission to oversee the changes. The amendment, sponsored by DFL Sen. John Marty of Roseville, drew support from 20 Democrats and a dozen Republicans.
The final bill passed 41-22, with eight Democrats voting no.
But the proposal is a long way from becoming law. The House is still working on its own health care proposal, with differences remaining to be resolved. And Gov. Tim Pawlenty said he wouldn't sign the bill in its current form.
"The bill they've got for potential consideration is not acceptable to me and to many Republican legislators," Pawlenty said. "But the differences are worth trying to explore to try to see if there is potential compromise."
He expects negotiations to continue as the House and Senate bills reach a conference committee.
Senate Republicans objected to a plan to monitor the body-mass index of Minnesota children and a move to authorize the health commissioner to recoup some of the estimated savings. The bill also includes a $40 million-a-year public health "assessment" for hospitals and health plans.
"This is Minnesota, where we deal with recessions by increasing taxes so we can spur economic growth," said Sen. Ray Vandeveer, R-Forest Lake. "We want to encourage people to get health insurance by putting a tax on it and making it cost more."
Sen. Linda Berglin, the bill's author, said her plan is ambitious but overdue.
"Anytime you're making a change you're going to have nervous people," said Berglin, DFL-Minneapolis.
Berglin said she made adjustments to respond to some concerns, including scrapping a proposed health insurance exchange to administer tax-free health plans and replacing that with a system of brokers. She said she hopes to come up with a version the Republican governor can sign.
A key feature would redirect health care spending to reward medical providers when their patients do well, instead of paying them more when they get sicker and need more care. The bill also encourages people to pick a primary health care provider -- a so-called "medical home" -- to coordinate their care. Medical homes would be required for those with chronic conditions and government insurance.
Marty said he hopes for a different final version. If the current bill were enacted, he predicted, the system would become more complex while still leaving a significant number without coverage.
"We won't have fixed the problem and I think even they admit that," Marty said after the vote.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)