Northland DFL state lawmakers Thursday unveiled a health-care agenda for the 2007 legislative session that includes health coverage for all uncovered children and tax breaks for families that take care of their elderly parents at home.
The plan, which is being carried by the House DFL caucus, also would allow small businesses to enroll employees in the state's MinnesotaCare health insurance plan and would allow uninsured Minnesotans to buy low-cost prescription drugs through the state's bulk buying program for institutions.
The plan was pushed Thursday in Duluth by DFL state Reps. Tom Huntley and Mike Jaros, both of Duluth. The DFL caucus has presented the plan in 15 Minnesota cities over the past four days.
Under the plan, about 60,000 more children 17 and younger would be eligible for care under MinnesotaCare. The additional burden would cost the state about $92 million per year, DFLers said, which would be covered by the more than $120 million surplus in the State Healthcare Fund that's stocked by a tax on health-care providers.
The plan could stand a fair chance of advancing if DFLers regain control of the state House and win the governor's mansion for the first time in 16 years, both of which are considered possibilities this year.
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"We all know how serious the health-care problem is. If we're in the majority, we'll do these four things in the first month (of the legislative session) to begin to address the issue," Huntley said.
The plan also calls for a $200-per-month state tax credit for people taking care of elderly family members, an effort to encourage people to stay with their families as the state's population rapidly ages. The credits would cost the state about $4.8 million, which DFLers say should come out of the state's current budget surplus.
"It's a start" toward full health-care coverage for all state residents, Jaros said. DFLers noted that the number of uninsured Minnesotans has increased from 5.6 percent of the population to more than 7 percent over the past four years.
