There are approximately 27,000 personal care attendants (PCAs) in Minnesota. In almost all cases, PCAs are family members who are taking care of a disabled relative, usually a child or…
I met Kris Greene several years ago. We were in federal court, listening to arguments in a case she and other parents brought in an attempt to stop Governor Dayton…
The Service Employees International Union that won the biggest public employee labor election in Minnesota history in 2014 now faces a statewide decertification campaign aimed at eliminating collective bargaining for…
The Duluth News Tribune published an in-depth article on how some people who enrolled in Medicaid through MNsure are making a shocking discovery: The state has placed a claim on…
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…
Minnesota’s Legislative Auditor found that over a five-month period the state overpaid between $115 and $271 million in Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare benefits due to MNsure’s failure to ensure people…
This piece originally appeared in the Winona Daily News on January 26, 2016. Rising health care costs pose a serious challenge to Minnesota, especially to those living in the southeast…
The Star Tribune reports Minnesota spent $1.2 billion less than projected on public health care programs in 2014. Lower spending is, of course, great news for Minnesota’s budget. Lower spending…
The November Budget and Economic Forecast projects a $1.871 billion surplus for the current FY 2016-17 budget, which is about $1 billion more than was projected last February. State law…
Good news from the Supreme Court today: If you like your health care subsidies, you can keep them. If you like limited government and the separation of powers, you are…
Republicans in the Minnesota House released their budget targets yesterday. The overall target for general fund spending is $39.949 billion. An additional $384 million from sales taxes on auto parts…
Minnesota’s health care system struggles with many of the same problems as the rest of the country. In particular, high and...
Minnesota’s state budget continues to grow and grow, even after adjusting for inflation and population. Total spending in...
The Star Tribune reported yesterday that the Minnesota Department of Commerce “asked” PreferredOne to lower insurance rates in the MNsure exchange last year. The July 2013 letter referenced in the…
Obamacare hit the news headlines April 1 by meeting the Obama administration’s goal of enrolling 7 million people by the March 31 enrollment deadline. Casually read the Twin Cities’ news…
Here’s the headline from yesterday’s MNsure press release: “mnsure reaches milestone, exceeds enrollment goal.” Scott Leitz, the interim CEO for MNsure, is “thrilled that more than 136,000 Minnesotans have enrolled in…
President Obama would now like Americans to turn their gaze away from the spectacularly botched launch of the health insurance exchange website and look to all the people helped by…
This piece originally appeared in the Pioneer Press on April 7, 2013. Gov. Dayton recently signed legislation passed on a party-line vote to require Minnesota to establish and operate a…
This piece originally appeared on USA Today and was written by Peter Nelson and Josh Archambault. Governors need to require greater flexibility in order to tailor reforms to their state.…
The House and the Senate have now passed separate omnibus health and human services bills that attempt to increase the number of Minnesotans with health insurance and restrain escalating health…
Gov. Tim Pawlenty recently made waves in a health policy speech when he said he believed Minnesota should move toward universal health coverage and that “as a goal, we should…
Gov.-elect Mark Dayton has announced that he will expand the state’s federally funded Medicaid program to poor adults without children as soon as Jan. 3. He plans to do so…
In 2005, the Onion reported this headline: "State of Minnesota Too Polite To Ask For Federal Funding." Gov. Tim Pawlenty is quoted in the article as saying, "Oh, we wouldn't…
A substantial effort is under way to save Minnesota’s General Assistance Medical Care program (GAMC) from expiring on March 1. As someone who wholly supports the reinstatement of GAMC, I’m…