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…
The performance of health savings accounts (HSAs) has muted most criticism of them. Initial research suggests these tax-favored savings accounts don’t favor only the young and wealthy. More importantly, people…
Tucked within the Minnesota House omnibus health and human services bill rests a proposal to create a statewide Health Insurance Exchange, a big idea that if passed into law would…
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…
On the off chance that you haven’t been following regulatory proceedings of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) in your spare time, there’s a growing controversy about something called ‘net neutrality.’…
Gov. Tim Pawlenty's decision in 2009 to balance the state budget through unallotment made for a yearlong political drama. Folks divided along ideological and partisan lines, making hay out of…
Last week, the Minnesota Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the legal challenge to Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s allotment reductions. After finally finding time to listen to the arguments, I heard…
As most expected, Democrats and Republicans are no closer to a compromise than they were before the White House’s much anticipated health-care summit. Unfortunately, that means that America is no…
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…
If Republicans and moderate Democrats in Congress aren't careful, the only health care reform issue they'll influence this summer will be whether or not the government sets up a Medicare-style…
Last night, as I watched the Republican National Convention on MSNBC, I about fell out of my chair when I saw an ad by AARP that claimed that “1.85 million Americans…
In May, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that federal law bars the state from recovering money from the estate of a husband for what Medicaid had paid for his wife’s…
In its September 2007 issue, Consumer Reports wades into America’s health care dialogue with a study that finds “four in ten Americans can’t depend on their health insurance.” The study…