Health Care Solutions Still Depend on State Efforts
A month ago, federal health care legislation seemed all but certain to pass. This legislation appeared to obviate the need for many state-based health care initiatives, especially efforts that dealt with Medicaid and insurance markets. In addition, Minnesota’s general assistance medical care (GAMC) program seemed to need only a temporary fix to bridge the gap between now and when new federal programs kicked in. However, as everyone knows, political winds took a dramatic shift in January. The election of Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts) to the U.S. Senate eliminated the Democrats’ filibuster-proof majority, which has effectively required Congress to step back and carefully re-examine their entire plan to transform America’s health care system.
The lesson here is that Minnesota cannot rely on the federal government to take responsibility for our health care system. Therefore, Minnesota policymakers should continue efforts to make health care more accessible and affordable through Medicaid and insurance market reforms. Also, initiatives to fix GAMC need to start taking a longer view, in terms of both the program and the state’s budget mess (PDF).
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