Minnesota’s revenue shortfall: Continued sacrifice or responsible solutions?

Background: Minnesota has a revenue shortfall and it’s time for responsible solutions. Since 2003, Gov. Tim Pawlenty has called on Minnesotans to sacrifice to resolve the state’s ongoing budget crisis. The sacrifices have not been shared equally by all Minnesotans and have fallen disproportionately on middle-class, working people. The governor’s continued budget cuts and disinvestments are eroding our once highly regarded education, transportation and health-care systems.

With yet another budget deficit, the governor is calling for another round of sacrifices. The Invest in Minnesota Campaign will highlight what these continued sacrifices mean to Minnesotans and how they are roadblocks on the way to shared prosperity.

Is cutting health care funding for 30,000 uninsured kids
really how we want to balance our budget?

There are 85,000 children in Minnesota living without health coverage. Fortunately for Twin Cities resident Cheri Jelatis, her one-year-old daughter isn’t one of them. Because Cheri’s two young children were enrolled in the state’s Medical Assistance (MA) program, a doctor diagnosed her daughter’s malformed vertebrae and has begun treatment.

“I don’t know what we would have done without coverage,” Cheri said. “My baby had to have an MRI done for one of her vertebrae that’s not formed. The problem was found at her one-year checkup, which we wouldn’t have been able to afford without coverage.”

Health coverage is a key indicator of child well-being. Children with health insurance get key check ups and immunizations, do better in school, have fewer long-term health problems and are more productive in the future work force. Without coverage, children often have to wait until medical problems worsen before they get treatment. Many times, that treatment is delivered in more-costly emergency rooms, which increases health costs for all Minnesotans.

Other Minnesota families may not be so lucky.

While Cheri feels fortunate to have coverage, other families may not be so lucky.
Gov. Pawlenty’s recently-proposed cuts in children’s health care funding would mean almost 30,000 Minnesota children who would have gained access to health coverage in the coming years will now remain uninsured.

The governor’s cuts would almost completely eliminate the gains he signed into law just last year, after state lawmakers passed legislation to cover an estimated 37,000 of the state’s 85,000 uninsured children by 2011.

• Almost 20,000 children will not get coverage because of the Governor’s plan to eliminate the funding to increase enrollment during the transition from the Medical Assistance program to MinnesotaCare.This funding scheduled to go into effect Oct 1, 2008 – would be eliminated under the Governor’s budget proposal.

• Up to 10,000 will not get coverage because of the Governor’s plan to cut health care outreach funding designed to help enroll Minnesotans in public health programs. An estimated 75 percent of uninsured children are believed to be eligible for public health coverage but not enrolled.

This month Cheri’s kids are transitioning from MA to the MinnesotaCare program.
The change was necessitated when Cheri’s husband found new employment after losing his previous job last year. That transition has been helped by her relationship with St. Paul-based Portico Healthnet, which does outreach to eligible families like Cheri’s to help them enroll in state health programs.

Cheri’s family got much-needed health coverage because of state investments in outreach and efforts to help with the transition from MA to MinnesotaCare. During this time of economic downturn, when thousands of families are already facing job loss and unaffordable health coverage, preventing almost 30,000 children from getting health coverage with budget cuts is not the right solution.

It’s time to address the revenue shortfall with fair revenue solutions: We need more revenue, we need to raise it fairly, and we need to invest in Minnesota. Only by returning to our tradition of public investment will we get Minnesota back on track and regain its standing as one of the healthiest, wealthiest and wisest of states.

We need more revenue. We need to raise it fairly. Invest in Minnesota.