Gov Pawlenty On Minnesota Health Care
254 views · Published 11 September 2009 · 41:58 · Indexed 20 September 2026
Channel: The Uptake by Bridgemakers · 2009 · News & Politics
In advance of President Obama's health care rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota Governor Pawlenty releases his own "top 10" things to know about Minnesota health care. Also speaking are Minnesota Commissioner of Health Sanne Magnan and Minnesota Commissioner of Human Services Cal Ludeman Press release from the Governor's office: Minnesota has helped lead the nation in market-driven, patient-centered and quality-focused health care reform. However, our states experience shows there are significant issues Congress should keep in mind as they consider health care reform legislation. Rather than taking power away from states, Congress should use the lessons we've learned tackling this crisis in our backyards. Minnesota has a vision for a better state of health. TEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT HEALTH CARE IN MINNESOTA 1. We cant afford what we already have. Over the past two decades, Minnesotas publicly-subsidized health care programs have grown at a rate substantially faster than the rest of the state budget and those growth rates are unsustainable. Those programs need to be redesigned and paid for differently. They are not a model for cost savings for the nation. From the past two-year state budget to the current two-year state budget, expenditures for the states MinnesotaCare program increased by 34.5%, while state general fund expenditures were reduced by 7.6%. Ten years ago, the average monthly cost of coverage for MinnesotaCare was $129, this year it is $378. The average annual increase over that period was 11.4% 2. Incorporate payment reform. Our current system rewards volume, instead of value. Minnesotas reforms are setting the groundwork to better align incentives and reform the payment system. Minnesota uses better coordination of care, paying for baskets of care - rather than for individual services or procedures - and an incentive payment system that rewards providers for keeping people healthy and offering high-value health care. 3. Focus on cost and ...
