Issue Position: Healthcare

Issue Position

Everyone, EVERYONE deserves to have access to affordable healthcare. This is not a new topic, but it is a critical issue that affects ALL Minnesotans. Recent history shows that solutions have been proposed to make healthcare services more accessible and affordable for all and without much success. A Harvard University study showed that medical expenses accounted for over 65 percent of personal bankruptcies in the US. Interestingly, the study also showed that 72 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy due to medical expenses had some type of health insurance, thus debunking the myth that only the uninsured face financial catastrophes due to medical-related expenses. As the richest country in the world this should never happen -- it is immoral and inhumane to ignore this very damaging state of affairs.

More recently, a move to allow more people to buy in to Minnesota Care received approval in the legislature (sort of a "public option" for health insurance). If it's signed into law it will represent an incremental step in the right direction. The confusion still exists among the general public when it comes to healthcare, specifically that having health insurance is the same as having healthcare…it is not. Healthcare is the delivery of direct health services to people by health providers, whereas health insurance is merely the mechanism for paying the aforementioned healthcare service providers. It's important to define that difference. In summary, the current system is the most cumbersome, inefficient, and certainly the most costly way to provide healthcare to people. Our health care costs are rising at an unsustainable rate and Minnesotans continue to lose ground and access to healthcare services. For the good of all people of Minnesota (and the U.S.) it needs to be changed.

Healthcare should be a right, not a privilege…everyone should have affordable healthcare!

Source