Minnesotans will experience higher health insurance costs because our lame duck Governor, Tim Pawlenty, is running for President. Pawlenty could have signed an application for a $1 million grant to help reduce health insurance premiums, but he chose not to. Pawlenty opposes health insurance reform because he needs to appeal to the Republican teabagger base who will decide who becomes the 2012 Republican nominee.
The grant, which was part of the federal health care legislation, was available to states to crack down on excessive health insurance premium increases. In response to questioning by Senator John Marty (DFL - Roseville), John Gross of the Department of Commerce said that department staff completed the grant paperwork, but that Governor Pawlenty had refused to sign the letter of application.
Senator Marty said, "If the governor signed the letter and submitted the already completed paperwork, the state would have been virtually guaranteed to receive the grant funding. Every state that applied received the money. It was a grant available simply for the asking."
Forty five states -- including most of the 21 states that are suing the federal government over health care reform -- took the money, Marty pointed out. "The money was to be used to protect consumers and the state from health insurers overcharging. The only people who might object to the state getting this money are insurance companies that don't want adequate oversight."
"This isn't a matter of whether one agrees with the federal reform or not; this was a matter of getting our share of federal dollars," Marty said. "It's not as if Minnesota has a surplus of money. Rather than sign a letter, Governor Pawlenty gave up a million dollars. That is inexcusable."
(From email statement from John Marty)
(I'd like to thank Sen. Dibble for his insights into the session that just completed. - promoted by The Big E)
The Minnesota legislature adjourned the 2009-2010 session on May 17. The major focus of our work was addressing an additional mid-cycle $1 billion deficit. Just 10 days before session was constitutionally required to end, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled the Governor's 2009 unallotment actions were illegal. This was an important victory upholding a fundamental aspect of our system, the balance of powers between the branches of government. However our budget balancing task was greatly complicated and tripled in one fell swoop.
It was solely up to the legislature to protect our core principles of compassion and opportunity. It was also solely up to the legislature conclude the session with some measure of civility. Minnesotans have long since made clear their impatience with total gridlock and mean-spirited partisanship. In light of the fact that only one party has been responsible for that dynamic, someone had to play the part of the grown up, leverage as much as possible to protect those most vulnerable, and take our case for change, especially in the executive branch, to the people. We can be especially proud of the fact that health care for the tens of thousands of people whom the Governor would completely disregard was protected.
Occasional Minnesota Governor and full-time 2012 presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty has created quite a mess in the last year. His unallotment decimated our state's ability to care for the least among us ... the poor, elderly and mentall ill. He's broken our state, but is unwilling to participate in fixing the mess he caused.
Early this morning, the DFL led legislature sent Pawlenty a bill which would fix some of the problems he created without raising taxes. The DFL gave Pawlenty 90% of what he wanted in the bill.
The problem is that Pawlenty is unwilling to concede anything at all.
Remember that for a presidential candidate like Pawlenty, any concession he makes could seriously damage his aspirations. Republicans view negotiating with Democrats as a weakness.
Once again, Pawlenty's national ambitions are hurting our state.
Here are the details of what Pawlenty is about to veto:
Franni and I couldn't connect on Friday. Franken staff and I were texting and leaving messages with each other all week, but we couldn't pull it off ... on time.
So ... live from a spare room at the DECC (Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center), Franni and I chatted between the first and second ballots.
It's become clear that most who've filed suits to block healthcare reform from coming to their state have other political ambitions. 2012 Republican presidential candidate and occasional Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is no different. He asked MN Attorney General Lori Swanson (DFL) to file a suit and she said nope.
So Pawlenty is going to file on his own to bolster his flagging presidential hopes.
As we noted here over the weekend, despite campaigning hard, Pawlenty is still polling in the low single digits. So Pawlenty is going to waste state money filing and pursuing a hopeless and frivolous federal lawsuit to further his presidential aspirations. Even in these tough economic times.
He admitted as much on Sunday:
These state officials' main argument in bringing about the lawsuit is that the federal mandate to buy health insurance in the new reform law is unconstitutional. Pawlenty has made this argument as well, saying last night that the mandate is "a dramatic overreach by our federal government." But Pawlenty himself is a recent convert to this view, who just last year "effectively positioned federal mandates within the boundaries of the law." From ABC's This Week last September:
STEPHANOPOULOS: So just to be clear, are you suggesting that any parts of the plan as the president has laid it out are unconstitutional?
PAWLENTY: Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a legal issue.
"I think it's fair to declare this a bona fide, grade-A flip-flop," Newsweek's Andrew Romano noted, adding that "[i]t's simply an opportunistic play for political advantage."
(Think Progress)
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has been repeating the claim that health care reform will "bankrupt" companies or "cost them millions/billions." The truth is different than what she claims.
AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., Caterpillar Inc. and Deere & Co. have all said that the reform will cost them "millions, if not billions of dollars" because of a change in the subsidy employers have received from the government to provide retirees prescription drug coverage plans in Medicare part D. The clearest explanation, and debunking, comes form MarketWatch:
s explained in plain English in today's Wall Street journal, "companies that provide this [Medicare Part D] benefit, as AT&T does, receive a federal subsidy, plus they can deduct the value of this subsidy from their taxes. The health overhaul cancels the deductibility of the subsidy."
Let me ask a question of readers here in even plainer English: Can anybody actually be upset about the fact that giant corporations have to stop taking tax deductions for welfare checks they get for providing health care to their employees and retirees?
Imagine if you will, the government sending you a check to pay for your prescription drugs and then you getting to deduct that amount from your income tax statement. HEY, BIG GOVERNMENT, KEEP YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF MY SUBSIDIES AND ENTITLEMENTS!
So it ends double-dipping for these huge corporations. And of course someone can be upset about the fact that giant corporations have to stop taking tax deductions for the subsidies they receive--it's the perfect issue for John Boehner to express his outrage over. Because, of course, subsidies and tax breaks to the nation's behemoth corporations is more important than not increasing the deficit while expanding health insurance coverage.
(Daily Kos)
This worst part for Bachmann and her fellow Republicans is that Henry Waxman is going to give these corporations the opportunity to come before his committee and submit testimony (most likely under oath) about how much money they'll lose.
We are being sold "emotions" in a marketing scam to manipulate our politics, so that corporations can continue to dominate the government decision making. Some people simply see the word "corporations" and just give up. We can win against corporations because we are telling the truth.
The Tea Party Campaign and the anti-health care campaign are selling "fear". At the same time, they are saying fear "socialism" and fear "your medicare being take away". So we respond saying that makes no logical sense, and we have NO impact. We should be responding to "fear".
So how can we persuade using the emotions of caring and hope instead of hate and fear? Some ideas after the fold.
Coffee is for me, the elixir of the Gods, so it should be no surprise that I had to participate in the grand starting day of the Coffee Party movement, starting at noon at my favorite coffee shop. The Coffee party has the outrageous idea that government is good and not the enemy of the people. And in fact, we could cooperate and create better government. Everyone is asked to take the civility pledge:
As a member or supporter of the Coffee Party, I pledge to conduct myself in a way that is civil, honest, and respectful toward people with whom I disagree. I value people from different cultures, I value people with different ideas, and I value and cherish the democratic process.
Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis), my Senator, and Rep. Larry Hosch (DFL-St. Joseph) have introduced a healthcare bill to save school districts money and guarantee high quality insurance to their employees. The bill is entitled School Employees Insurance Program (SEIP).
MMB Report: Health coverage pool for educators saves districts $93 million by 2013
Legislature moving forward with School Employee Health Insurance Pool bill
Lawmakers renewed a 2009 legislative proposal this week after a non-partisan Minnesota Management and Budget report estimated the legislation could save the state's school districts $10.6 million through 2011, and $82.7 million in 2012-2013. The total estimated savings to schools over the next decade are close to $1 billion.
Authored by State Senator Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, and State Representative Larry Hosch, DFL-St. Joseph, the legislation would require all Minnesota school districts that are not currently self-insured to obtain health insurance coverage through a new School Employees Insurance Program (SEIP). Such a move would mitigate annual, unpredictable cost increases and improve the ability of districts to negotiate for lower-cost, better insurance plans.
"School districts are facing two major budget challenges right now: rising health care costs and reduced funding," Sen. Dibble said. "It's gotten to the point that a significant portion of any funding sent to school districts is obligated to offset rising health care costs - it's a destructive cycle, and this bill can help put an end to it. The report issued this week proves this bill would save school districts millions of dollars, which means millions of dollars that now can be directed where they're most needed: the classroom."
According to the MMB report, school districts in Minnesota spent $990.3 million on health care costs in 2008. Had the SEIP been in place in 2008, the report states those costs would have been reduced by $88 million, with health care expenditures totaling $902.7 million.
(press release email)
When I opened my Minneapolis Star Tribune to the editorial page yesterday morning, I saw their editorial demanding Congress pass health care reform. I thought it was high time these chowderheads came to their senses. Then I realized that they were up to their usual shenanigans. The gave Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) the space below their editorial to counter their well-reasoned argument with lies, fear-mongering and shameless innuendo.
The blatant disregard for public opinion and the arrogance of this Congress and White House are threatening the integrity of our country with parliamentary tricks and backroom deals under misleading claims of bipartisanship.
This is her opening sentence. In this single sentence I find four lies and two instances of hypocrisy.
Lie #1: ...blatant disregard for public opinion... - public opinion polling by respected polling firms has indicated that a large majority of Americans want health care reform. Polls even showed that a majority of Americans wanted the public option which is not (as of this time) in the bill. There is an outside (very outside) chance that the PO might make it in via reconciliation.
Lie #2: ...the arrogance of this Congress and White House... - Barack Obama, Harry Reid and, to a lesser extent, Nancy Pelosi have tried bipartisanship and Republicans have met it with lies and slander. Death panels and birthers are not honest debate. Furthermore, Republicans have used every trick they know to obstruct health care reform. Only after nearly 9 months of attempting to craft a bipartisan solution are they abandoning it.
Lie #3: ...threatening the integrity of our country with parliamentary tricks and backroom deals... - these parliamentary ploys did not threaten America when the Republicans used them. This is simply fearmongering with no basis in fact.
Lie #4: misleading claims of bipartisanship. - I don't know why Obama and Reid tried to work with y'all on this. You Republicans were never going to negotiate in good faith on this. I'm glad we're scrapping the shabby veneer of bipartisanship and pushing this through on a party line vote.
Hypocrisy #1: ...the arrogance of this Congress and White House... - If any Administration was arrogant, the George W. Bush Administration was. Bachmann calling the Obama Administration arrogant is definitely the pot calling the kettle black.
Hypocrisy #2: ...threatening the integrity of our country... - the Bush Administration truly threatened our country. They got rid of the writ of habeaus corpus, passed the Patriot Act, committed war crimes by torturing prisoners, ran up such a massive debt that our national solvency is still in danger, ran the economy off the cliff ... need I go on?
And this was just the first sentence.
The Star Tribune have always let Bachmann get away with lying. On the one hand they've always printed whatever she submits without the slightest care that the vast majority of what she's said on their pages are lies. On the other hand, they've never asked her anything but softball questions without any follow-up questions regardless of how insane or blatantly false those statements are.
Representative Keith Ellison said that it took several bills to push through civil rights and it will take several bills to push through real single payer health care that covers everyone. So I am taking a deep breath and trusting in historical precedent. So I am believing in the idea that better is better. On Monday, I just was added to healthcare that I don't trust, after all I have many pre-existing conditions like I am female and I have lived before! Just those two pre-existing conditions are enough to deny all coverage. Companies should sell a fight-the-health-care-insurance service, so we don't have to do that when we are sick.
So the most important thing is what happens locally. So my trusted Congresswoman Betty McCollum gives a summary after the fold.
It is a common theme from the folks on the right to say that Americans have the best health care in the world. I can't dispute that we have the best healthcare in the world. But, what's the point of having the best care in the world if a large number of people can't or don't take advantage of it because of the cost? What's the point of having the best healthcare in the world if people pass on seeing one of the best doctors in the world and let what might be a simple diagnosis and simple cure turn into a major illness and maybe even an incurable disease?
What's the point of having the "best in the world" if access is based on an ability to pay? We can have the best anything if we have the ability to pay. The problem we have is that tens of millions of Americans don't have affordable access to basic health care, let alone access to the best.
(Bumping this one again; will be referring to it on the radio tonight! - promoted by TwoPuttTommy)
{I'm bumping this back up to the top -- please call today. The Big E]
The MN House and Senate passed a bill to reprieve the poor, elderly and mentally ill from absentee Governor Tim Pawlenty's unallotment of the healthcare they receive through General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC). This bill passed the House 125-9. 38 Republicans voted on Friday to protect the poorest and those least able to take care of themselves.
Of course, Pawlenty faxed in his veto from out of town (CPAC convention in Washington, DC). Now, these 38 are being pressured to hold Governor Teabags veto as his presidential ambitions are more important than Minnesota's poor, elderly and mentally ill.
The most interesting members of this list are Governor candidate Marty Seifert, MN State Auditor candidate former Secretary of State and current State Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, and House Minority Leader Kurt Zellers. Jim Abeler bucked Governor Gutshot and was one of the Override Six, so this wouldn't be his first time standing up for what's best for Minnesota.
Here's the complete list of Republicans who voted for the GAMC deal that passed the House on Friday. Just click on their name, I've linked to their House pages. Please call these legislator and urge them to support overriding Pawlenty's GAMC veto.
Actually everyone will be dying from lack of emergency care if a disaster hits because the hospital capacity will be gone, from repeated cuts. When 35W bridge fell, we had the hospital capacity to handle this. I lived in California when even normal emergencies caused ambulances to call ahead searching for a space. I was pregnant and I was not certain of hospital admission, even with health care. Disasters don't just affect poor people, so these GAMC cuts affect the health care of everyone.
We've been talking about Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and how little she's done for the people in her district. Compare and contrast with Senators Al Franken (D-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Representatives Jim Oberstar (D-MN) and Tim Walz (D-MN). The email announcement came out on Friday, but I figured why bury this on a late Friday afternoon news dump when nobody's paying attention?
Today [last Friday] U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken and Representatives Jim Oberstar and Tim Walz announced that Minnesota will receive $18.7 million to create jobs and train unemployed workers in industries that are being transformed by technology and innovation. The grants are funded through the Department of Labor (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act).
When you consider that obstructionist conservatives like Bachmann and Rep. John Kline (R-MN) incessantly talk about eliminating pork, I wonder what they'd say about this grant to help the people suffering the most from the Republican economic policies of the Bush era?
Coffee is for me, the elixir of the Gods, so it should be no surprise that I had to participate in the grand starting day of the Coffee Party movement, starting at noon at my favorite coffee shop. The Coffee party has the outrageous idea that government is good and not the enemy of the people. And in fact, we could cooperate and create better government. Everyone is asked to take the civility pledge:
