My First Visit to the Capitol

This is my third week at MPhA and I recently saw some action at the capitol. My very first hearing (is that even what it’s called?) was on Health Care Reform chaired by Senator Linda Berglin of the Health and Human Services Budget Division. There were three main presentations:

1. Dr. Lynn Blewett from the University of Minnesota gave us a run down on the Federal Health Care Reform’s Effect on Minnesota.
2. Representatives from the Minnesota Department of Health, Commerce and Human Services presented on implementing the reform.
3. Lastly, George Hoffman from the Department of Human Services talked about the fiscal implications. 

It felt surreal to be sitting in on such a monumental period of American history. Joe Biden had it correct when he said this was a “BFD.” There’s no other rotation I could be on that would allow me to have this experience. The biggest impression I got was that this was going to be a slow and long process. A lot of these provisions do not take effect for another few years and there are still a lot of unanswered questions. For what it’s worth, here is Dr. Blewett’s summary slide:

• Access and Affordability: the new law will have a significant impact in MN and elsewhere
• Initiatives on delivery system and payment reforms to improve the cost and quality of care
  
  • Minnesota is ahead of most other states and should be well-positioned to take advantage of these initiatives
• Many details related to implementation remain to be clarified through rules, regulation and administrative directives
• Significant work ahead in short and long term to implement health reform!

If you have further questions, you can contact Dr. Lynn Blewett at blewe001@umn.edu or 612-624-4802. 

As far as the cost, coverage, and financing of health reform, here’s the breakdown:

• Cost: $938 billion over 10 years
• Coverage: 32 of 54 million uninsured covered
• Financing: Half from reduced spending in Medicare and Medicaid and half from tax provisions

If you have further questions about implementation contact April Todd-Malmlov (April.Todd-Malmlov@state.mn.us), Manny Munson-Regala (Manny.munson-regala@state.mn.us) or Brian Osberg (Brian.Osberg@state.mn.us)

That’s all folks…