One of the largest cuts Tim Pawlenty made in his unilateral slashing of the Minnesota budget was completely eliminating General Assistance Medical Care. What is GAMC? According to the
Department of Human Services website, “
GAMC provides medical care for a monthly average of 33,000 (FY 2007) low-income Minnesotans who don’t qualify for MA or other state and federal programs — primarily low-income adults, ages 21 and 64, who do not have any dependent children.”
Here’s the problem, though — the need for this money doesn’t just go away. It’s not like we get to save $381 million dollars and that cost won’t be passed on elsewhere. So where is the cost going? Much of it will be passed on to area hospitals. HCMC, for example, estimates it will lose up to $109 million from GAMC cuts, and Regions hospital estimates it will lose $46 million, which is 10 percent of its gross revenue.
How are the hospitals supposed to replace that lost revenue? They can’t really make up for it with cuts in services — they are mandated to provide service to patients who come into their emergency rooms. That means the only real choice is to pass the cost onto their other patients. Just like Pawlenty replaced taxes with “fees,” he’s now avoiding tax increases by increasing your hospital bills. As famed economist Milton Friedman once said, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Minnesotans are still going to pay to provide health care, we’ll just pay for it differently. Now, instead of paying for it with taxes that can be distributed equitably, we’ll just dump the entire burden on Minnesotans who need to go to the hospital.
We know that Republicans want Obama to fail. They’ve made that pretty clear. Which makes me wonder: Does that sentiment extend to the economy?
Would they be happy to see the economic recovery fail and have us plunge into a depression? It would probably do a lot for their party’s electability, but is it possible that they could be so cynical?
I was disturbed by the glee with which Republicans attacked this month’s poor jobs report. Did they really think the economy was going to be fixed overnight? Shouldn’t they be working with Obama to improve the economy, rather than reveling in its continued weakness?
Yes, June was another bad month for the economy; in fact, by some measures it was worse than May. That’s yet another sign that our economy is fragile — it is indeed the worst economy we’ve had since the Great Depression, and the fix will not be quick nor easy. The June jobs report mostly confirmed what the administration and economists have been telling us: We shouldn’t really expect the recovery to begin in earnest until next year, and then slowly at that.
June’s poor jobs report confirmed something else for us: Just as liberal economists Paul Krugman and Christina Romer have said, it’s far too early to give up on Federal efforts to restore the economy, lest the economy slip into a depression. Yet Republicans have been ever more vocal in calling for fiscal restraint, despite the fact that they themselves had none during the Bush years. Do they really believe the message they’re pushing right now, or are they just hoping Obama will cave in and reduce spending prematurely? That would give them months of bad job reports to gloat over. Once again, I hope they’re not really that cynical, but I’m not sure anymore.
The rumors are getting pretty fierce about Tarryl Clark running for
Governor Congress in 2010 - one might even say she’s close to making an announcement. She has been contacting key supporters and activists, and I doubt it’s to chat about that cold spell we had in June.
It would be great to see a strong voice out of CD 6 (you know, the place where fun and sanity go to die), and of course, Tarryl would also have the advantage of a strong base there.
I’ll post when I hear more…
UPDATE: Rumors are in fact so fierce that it’s like playing a game of “telephone”. Tarryl has been contacting folks about a run for Congress, and it is believed that, while we do think she was once eyeing the Gov seat, she is now angling for the US House. Sorry for the confusion and the misspeak.
Al Franken
got emotional at yesterday’s victory rally when talking about his opportunity to serve the people of Minnesota:
Franken teared up when he talked about people’s concerns that the protracted Senate race was taking an emotional toil on him and his family.
“What we’ve been through is just nothing, especially when compared to what so many Minnesota families have been going through during this same period. When you win an election, what you really win is a chance to go to work for working families who need a voice in Minnesota,” he said.
Al invoked Paul Wellstone and his philosophy to explain how he would work for Minnesotans:
“Paul looked at his job as improving people’s lives and that’s what I want to do,” Franken said Tuesday
Read more here.
This was a nasty campaign on both sides. But Al seems to be humbled by his opportunity to serve Minnesotans, concerned about the challenges we are facing right now, and aware that he has a lot of work to do to win the support of all the Minnesotans who did not vote for him. I hope all Minnesotans will give him the chance to earn their support.
Wow, that’s a lot better. After some bad numbers early on, the
revised health reform bill would provide near-universal coverage for a much lower cost:
The plan carries a 10-year price tag of slightly over $600 billion, and would lead toward an estimated 97 percent of all Americans having coverage, according to the Congressional Budget Office, Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and Chris Dodd said in a letter to other members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The AP obtained a copy.
By contrast, an earlier, incomplete proposal carried a price tag of roughly $1 trillion and would have left millions uninsured, CBO analysts said in mid-June.
The letter indicated the cost and coverage improvements resulted from two changes. The first calls for a government-run health insurance option to compete with private coverage plans, an option that has drawn intense opposition from Republicans [emphasis added].
You would think Republicans would want to support the less-costly measure, given their insistence that the Obama administration has been spending too much. But this isn’t about what’s the most cost-effective, or what’s best for Americans. This is about defending the status quo for the benefit of health insurance companies. Newt Gingrich, for example, says the health insurance companies are doing a great job:
Continue reading ‘Adding a public plan means drastic savings for health reform’
On behalf of Americans everywhere, I would like to thank God for some
excellent advice he gave to Joe the Plumber:
Asked if he has plans to run for public office, he replied, “I hope not. You know, I talked to God about that and he was like, ‘No.’”
Even God is sick of Joe the Plumber. Now if only He could convince Joe to go back to plumbing full-time.
[via Think Progress]
Thanks to our friends in DC for sending this great picture.
The media keeps reporting that health reform is losing momentum, but I just don’t see it. Granted, it’s probably not going to be done by August, but this is major, major legislation — getting it done within Obama’s first year would be an impressive feat by any standard.
Now there’s even more momentum behind reform: Retail juggernaut Walmart is adding their voice in support of health care reform.
Here’s an excerpt from a letter sent to President Obama by Walmart, the SEIU, and the Center for American Progress:
We believe now is the time for action on this vital issue. We commend the leadership of elected officials who are committed to enactment of reform, and we appreciate the commitment to inclusion and transparency which has been present thus far.
We are entering a critical time during which all of us who will be asked to pay for health care reform will have to make a choice on whether to support the legislation. This choice will require employers to consider the trade off of agreeing to a coverage mandate and additional taxes versus the promise of reduced health care cost increases.
Given Walmart’s history of providing poor benefits to its employees, is their support for reform really whole-hearted? Probably not. I take this letter as a sign that Walmart recognizes the broad support health reform has in America right now. Walmart has two choices: it can either be involved in policy negotiations, or have a policy imposed on it. Americans support universal health care, and it looks like employer-based health care will be the primary mechanism to deliver it. The result is that Walmart is facing a mandate to cover its employees whether it gets involved in the debate or not.
Quite frankly, though, I don’t really care about Walmart’s motives here. I’m sure that, given their choice, they’d much rather continue with the current model where many of their employees are covered by Medicaid because of their low wages and benefits. But the fact of the matter is that reform is coming, and Walmart knows it. By adding their voice to the chorus calling for health reform, Walmart is contributing that much more momentum toward getting reform implemented this year.
The Democrats now have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate! In theory, at least. What are the chances of them actually overcoming a filibuster? I’m going to guess that they’re pretty slim.
Will they be able to overcome a filibuster on climate-change legislation? They’ll have to convince Arlen Specter (D-PA) to vote with the Democratic caucus. How about a filibuster on a national security bill? They’ll have to struggle for Joe Lieberman’s (I-CT) vote. They’d better make sure their proposals aren’t too liberal, or they’ll lose Evan Bayh’s (D-IN) vote.
The point is, 60 Democrats (counting independents who caucus as Democrats) are still not going to be enough in many cases. The Democratic party is simply too fractious — and Harry Reid is too weak a leader to whip them into line. Of course, every vote counts, and Franken’s vote will help Democrats get more bills through Congress. But on the most important legislation — cap and trade, for instance — the Senate is still likely to be a black hole.
Tomorrow — Wednesday, July 1 at 12:00 p.m. — A victory rally with Senator-elect Al Franken and supporters will be held on the upper mall of the Minnesota State Capitol. Minnesota DFL Chair Brian Melendez, Senator-elect Al Franken and Franni Franken will address the rally.
WHAT: Victory Rally with Senator-elect Al Franken
WHO: Minnesota DFL Chair Brian Melendez, United States Senator-elect Al Franken, Franni Franken, US Senator Amy Klobuchar
WHEN: Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
WHERE: Minnesota State Capitol, upper mall
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
Saint Paul, MN
After eight months of waiting, Minnesota will finally have full representation in the US Senate. The Minnesota Supreme Court
ruled today in favor of Al Franken, confirming that he won the recount and is entitled to the Senate seat once occupied by the late Senator Paul Wellstone. Today we start the process of moving forward, of tackling the work of governing this state, starting a new day of progressive values and protection of our most needy citizens. Today we can rest easy knowing that our election system was tested and came through shining. Today we can let out a collective deep sigh, and know that the waiting is over.
Congratulations Al Franken, and congratulations to all the staff, interns, volunteers, voters, donors, lawyers, students, moms, dads, first time voters, absentee voters, college students, folks from Albert Lea to the Northwest Angle, from the north side to the lakeside, from the Iron Range to the Twin Cities - congratulations Minnesota.
We did it.
He will not pursue further appeals. I will post his statement once a transcript is available.
Coleman congratulated Franken, and thanked Amy Klobuchar and her staff for their hard work while Minnesota had only one Senator.
The Minnesota Supreme Court
just issued it’s ruling, in favor of Al Franken!
UPDATE: Tell Governor Tim Pawlenty to sign the certificate of election! Rally on the steps of the Capitol tomorrow at noon.
UPDATE: Norm Coleman concedes!
Politico asks the question that’s been on many Minnesotans’ minds lately:
Republicans know they’ll need every last dollar in next year’s campaign if they want to keep Democrats from topping 60 seats in the Senate.
So with potentially better Senate investments on the horizon, is it worth continuing to pour money into Norm Coleman’s long-shot Senate campaign if the race keeps going on and on?
Everybody in the country has given Coleman up for dead, except for one man:
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, insists the Coleman challenge is money well-spent, and it won’t hurt his 2010 coffers.
“I don’t think it’s a factor on 2010,” Cornyn told POLITICO. “Norm has been raising a bunch of his own money, and the RNC and the NRSC [have] been helping some too.”
Read more here.
People Are Shouting
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