I believe that affordable, high quality health care should be available to all the citizens of our community and state. Health care costs continue to escalate, and even the most basic health insurance plans are becoming more difficult for hard working Minnesotans to afford.
As your State Senator I will work to make our state a national leader in health care management. The hidden costs of uninsured citizens, plus uncontrolled, runaway insurance company overhead, are the two primary causes of our current crisis. Here are some things I will go to work on immediately:
Provide universal coverage to all citizens through a single payer system modeled after MnCare and Medicare.
- All citizens buy into the plan with a basic level of coverage
- All citizens will be guaranteed issuance
- People unable to afford to buy into the system will be subsidized as they are currently through MnCare
- Coverage will be completely portable within the state and will allow each individual to select the provider of their choosing
- Reduce drug costs by negotiating with manufactures for volume discounts the way the Veterans Administration and Medicare do now
- Reduce the percentage of premium money going to marketing and other hidden administrative costs
- Create the Small Business Freedom Act, allowing our business and family farmers enrollment options for employees and individuals
- Pool resources to allow more effective purchasing power to control costs
Provide long term support to a high quality health care system.
- Develop education incentives to support our nurses and prevent a long term shortage of nurses
- Re-invigorate investment in the elite medical research and care institutions that Minnesota used to be known for
- Provide incentives for students to enroll in our medical schools and nursing schools
We live in times of challenge, with controversy swirling around every important issue that demands action.