Comments on: Single-Payer Health Care in Minnesota: Notes From a Community Forum

By: Minneapolis Realtor

Minneapolis Realtor — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:13:55 +0000

Just reading this now but it was a great post. As a Realtor I am completely dependent on my husband’s insurance. If we had to make the move I would make things a lot easier on us if we had an option like this. BTW – Did you see the comment’s made by Stephen Hawking, someone used him as an example of how he never would have survived on England’s system. The only trouble with that is he has been a British citizen most of his life and admittedly would not be here today without it.

Keep up the good work :)

By: Barker and Hedges Real Estate Blog » Blog Archive » March Local Blog Round-Up Part II

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:41:36 +0000

[...] trivial, like how Dan Aykroyd will be in St. Louis Park tonight, or very important, like this post containing information about a healthcare forum with state representatives and healthcare [...]

By: Joel Clemmer

Joel Clemmer — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:43:15 +0000

Achieving true health care reform on single payer principles in Minnesota depends on electing a responsible Governor. Fortunately, John Marty, himself, is running! See http://johnmarty.org

By: Erica Mauter

Erica Mauter — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:28:28 +0000

I didn't realize this at the time I posted this, but last week's Truth to Tell was also about single-payer health care. Good listen. Different group of people (except for Kip Sullivan). (And a call in by Amy J!) In case anyone wasn't sure, single-payer health care would effectively eliminate health insurance companies as we know them.

By: Amy J.

Amy J. — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 23:45:54 +0000

Thanks for this great summary!

If you (or anyone reading this) wants to learn more and what they can do to get involved in the Campaign for the Minnesota Health Plan, you can attend an activist training on Saturday Feb. 28th. You can get more info about it by going here:
http://www.muhcc.org/calendar/calendar_day/5728005/2009-2-28.htm . (If the link doesn’t work, just go to http://www.muhcc.org and look at the Feb. 28th on the Events Calendar.)

By: Eric Ferguson

Eric Ferguson — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:11:53 +0000

John, I’m glad you liked it. I was the moderator and chair of the committee that organized it. The SD62 central committee members present are in favor of doing more, so while it has to be properly discussed and voted on, it looks like more will happen. It appears the next issue will be labor law reform, specifically EFCA. I’m hoping to hold it in May, because it looks like Congress will take up the bill sometime in Spring.

And Erica, thanks for coming and writing about it so thoroughly.

By: John T. Hoffoss

John T. Hoffoss — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 06:40:23 +0000

I think the cost to business depends more on the size of their employment pool and the average health thereof. I know that at a previous job, the utilization of the provided health insurance coverage directly impacted premiums in the following year. Ultimately, insurance has to balance in this fashion, or you’ll wind up with an underfunded program that will turn into a gaping hole of suckage.

Social conservatives comfortable with legislating their morals won’t have a directly obvious price tag associated with that action. (Not that it won’t cost in the long run.) Social liberals have a very real and upfront price tag, but we support this as it makes sense morally, not to mention that in the long run, (i.e. longer than two terms) we will come out ahead and save more perennially.

Your very last thought is the kicker: from what I would read into this, the insurance companies either: A. get a nice, frigid-from-Minnesota cold shoulder; or B. get subcontracted to operate and process the new single-payer system. I hope there’s a better solution that I’m not seeing right away, because answer A means this will never happen (the insurance company lobby is, I assume, gargantuan and supplied with endless resources), and answer B would probably retain more of the old system than we’d want. But I’m not in deep on this issue. I care, but I also don’t know a lot about this stuff specifically, which is why I attended the forum. I would love to see more events like it.

By: Paul Rozycki

Paul Rozycki — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:48:27 +0000

When Social Security was enacted, there was concern before it was passed about the life insurance business. It survived, and the people of this country did much better.

I don’t see keeping private health insurers in business and their employees employed as a reason to NOT enact single payer. There are so many people who do not have health, or jobs, or disposable income, or even life itself, because of what private insurance is doing to the overall system and people. With all that is going wrong with people’s ability to get the medical care they need at a reasonable cost, why would we continue with what is going on now and not set up single payer? I really like the way Sen. Marty is taking the lead on this, and I think he’ll make a great governor and leader for this country.

By: Gtace Kelly

Gtace Kelly — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:12:02 +0000

I love this article. I wanted to go and had a conflict of interest. Would you cross post his on MN Progressive project. The same format should work. Thanks for writing!