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on January 06, 2021
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After 20,000 Letters, Will Gov. Walz Bring Common Sense To Our COVID-19 Strategy?

Written by Bill Walsh

(Golden Valley, MN…) After Gov. Tim Walz issued Executive Order 20-99, Center of the American Experiment immediately launched a grass roots effort (www.COVIDCommonsenseMN.com) to convince him to relax restrictions on bars, restaurants, health clubs and youth sports. As Walz prepares for his afternoon press conference today, he should try to read the 20,000 letters emailed to his office over the last five weeks. The letters come from parents, small business owners and regular people fed up with arbitrary restrictions that do not follow any scientific or logical pattern. In fact, the number of new cases and positivity rate both peaked at...

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on April 08, 2020
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State Leaders Must Release COVID-19 Model

Written by Katie Fulkerson

John Hinderaker, President of Center of the American Experiment, released the following statement in response to the extension of Gov. Tim Walz’s stay-at-home order: “State leaders must release the model they are using to predict the impact of COVID-19. It’s unconscionable to expect Minnesotans to blindly follow government guidance when their lives and livelihoods have been completely upended. “Today we are calling on Gov. Walz and Commissioner Malcolm to immediately release the original model that informed the decisions made two weeks ago, the revised model that has informed today’s decisions, and all of the underlying data and assumptions. This is the time for complete transparency; the...

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on March 31, 2020
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Little-known Minnesota law artificially restricts the supply of hospital beds

Written by Katie Fulkerson

As COVID-19 infections sweep the nation, a Minnesota law restricting the number of hospital beds in the state isdrawing new scrutiny. Since 1984, the Hospital Construction Moratorium has put an artificial cap on hospital beds. The law prohibits the building of new hospitals as well as “any erection, building, alteration, reconstruction, modernization, improvement, extension, lease or other acquisition by or on behalf of a hospital that increases bed capacity of a hospital.” To add more beds, hospitals must jump through hoops to secure special approval from the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Legislature. By April 18, Minnesota will likely...

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on March 13, 2020
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COVID-19’s Economic Impact in Minnesota

Written by Katie Fulkerson

In anticipation of the possible widespread proliferation of COVID-19 in Minnesota, economist John Phelan outlined risk factors for the state economy, as well as bright spots where Minnesota may fare better than other states. Watch the press conference: Is MN’s economy prepared for COVID-19? 🦠 In some ways, yes, MN will be better off than other states. In other ways, definitely not. TUNE IN for more.Posted by Center of the American Experiment on Friday, March 13, 2020 Drawing on data from the recent report, The State of Minnesota’s Economy: 2019, Phelan predicts that Minnesota’s diverse economy will help shield the state from a...

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on October 07, 2016
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News Alert: To Save or Not to Save METS: That’s the Real Question for Counties

Written by Tom Steward

Three years after a disastrous launch, the MNsure state health care exchange’s IT system (METS) remains so dysfunctional that county officials still struggling to implement it openly question whether the system should be scrapped. “The whole operability of the public program side is a complete, unmitigated disaster,” said Dakota County Commissioner Mary Liz Holberg. “After a while you just get numb,” said Pennington County Commissioner Darryl Tveitbakk. “…The administration of it has been a disaster.” “It's been three years of incremental improvements, temporary fixes and manual work-arounds for public healthcare programs,” Hennepin County Board Chair Jan Callison told Gov. Mark Dayton in a...

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on March 01, 2016
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DFL Lawmaker Bucks Nurses’ Union in Effort to Streamline Licensing

Written by Tom Steward

  Judy Santiago just wants a level playing field with the Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin nurses who compete with her. Minnesota has granted reciprocity to licensed nurses in neighboring states for ten years, allowing them to care for Minnesota patients, over the phone or in person, without requiring a Minnesota nursing license. But Santiago still has to buy a separate license to practice in each state, costing the Burnsville nurse time and money. "I know nurses who have 30 plus licenses in order to be able to work with patients telephonically," Judy Santiago said. "That's just ridiculous. It doesn't make sense." What's...

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on February 15, 2016
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MNsure Enrolls Millionaires in Medicaid and MinnesotaCare Programs

Written by Tom Steward

The Affordable Care Act was supposed to extend health coverage to millions—not millionaires. Yet while many families continue to struggle to afford medical insurance, some Minnesotans with millions in assets get free and low-cost subsidized health coverage through MNsure, the state health insurance exchange. “It’s happening all over the nation and all over Minnesota,” said Harlan Johnson, a Pequot Lakes health insurance broker and MNsure Health Industry Advisory Council member. “I've looked people on the MNsure Board of Directors right in the eye and told them this. They know it, but they don’t want to deal with it.” It’s a legal, but...

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