After Gov. Mark Dayton stunned the world by admitting that the Affordable Care Act isn’t affordable for many Minnesotans, the DFL campaign committees went into full damage-control mode. It wasn’t that Gov. Dayton was wrong. It was that he was right (“ ‘Not affordable’ insurance quote spurs talk,” Oct. 16).
The DFL cheerfully created MNsure and then bragged about it. Sen. Tony Lourey, its chief author, reportedly said at the bill-signing ceremony that, “The people won on this bill.” Rep. Joe Atkins reportedly said, “This truly is a landmark day in Minnesota. This is the most significant reform of health insurance we’ve seen in Minnesota in 50 years.”
Now that MNsure is imploding, DFL politicians are complaining that Republicans haven’t helped fix it. That’s nonsense. First, Republicans offered solutions from the start. Next, DFL politicians consistently insisted MNsure was just fine, that Republicans were playing political games with MNsure.
How is it Republicans’ fault for not fixing MNsure when high-profile DFL politicians insisted nothing was wrong?
Finally, it’s important to remember the DFL was wrong about Obamacare from the start; Republicans predicted the specific things at which Obamacare would fail.
Insanity is putting the people who wrecked Minnesota’s health insurance industry in charge of fixing Minnesota’s health insurance industry.
Gary Gross
St. Cloud, Minn.
