Minnesotans rally to restore safety net health care program
4 February 2010
ST. PAUL - Hundreds of people rallied at the Capitol on the opening day of the 2010 legislative session Thursday to encourage legislators and Governor Pawlenty to find a way to extend the General Assistance Medical Care program, which was unilaterally eliminated by the governor last May.
The rally was organized by the Save GAMC coalition, a coalition of more than 40 organizations, including a number of unions, the St. Stephen’s Human Rights Program, Office for Social Justice at Catholic Charities of St. Paul/Minneapolis and TakeAction Minnesota.
The rally featured supporters holding up photographs of GAMC enrollees as a moment of silence was observed. Supporters also shouted the message “Pass the bill, sign the bill,” waving pens in the air at various points during the speeches.
MNA's Linda Slattengren led a delegation to the Governor's office to present the bill --and 700 pens collected from the people at the rally.
Photo by Steve Share, Minneapolis Labor Review
Rally speakers included Brock Nelson, CEO of Regions Hospital; Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman of Temple Israel in Minneapolis; Linda Slattengren, past president of the Minnesota Nurses Association; Liz Kuoppola, executive director of the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless; Pastor Bill Beyer, ELCA pastor from Bemidji; Ramsey County Commissioner Toni Carter; and four GAMC enrollees who shared short statements on what the program has provided for them personally.
The Pawlenty administration has said that transitioning GAMC enrollees to MinnesotaCare would maintain their access to health care. However, members of the Save GAMC coalition disagree.
Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman, Temple Israel, Minneapolis, addressed the rally, invoking the values of Paul Wellstone and Hubert Humphrey in the campaign to save GAMC. "We are going to fight for it, every step of the way... to make sure Minnesotans who are at risk... will be able to find the health care that is every person's right."
Photo by Steve Share, Minneapolis Labor Review
“Despite Commissioner Ludeman’s claims, shifting people on GAMC to MinnesotaCare only maintains the perception of providing affordable access,” said Slattengren. “The reality is that this shift would drive the Health Care Access Fund into the red a full year earlier. It is unsustainable as a funding source, and puts at risk the health coverage for all working families in MinnesotaCare.”
The DFL has crafted a plan, co-sponsored by Senator Linda Berglin and Representative Erin Murphy, which would redesign the GAMC program and extend it into 2011.
Supporters say the new plan meets the goals the Governor laid out when he line-item vetoed it last year: it costs less than the current GAMC program, includes key care management reforms, and does not raise taxes.
Specifically, the joint House-Senate proposal would:
• Temporarily restore eligibility for GAMC to nearly everyone currently eligible for the program.
• Keep coverage affordable, meaning no increase in premiums or co-pays for GAMC enrollees. This provision is essential given that most enrollees earn no more than $203 per month.
• Move toward new models for care management that will be more transparent and cost-effective than the current GAMC program.
Following the rally, a contingent of GAMC supporters carried an oversized bill over to the Governor’s office. The giant bill, emblazoned with the slogan “PASS THE BILL. SIGN THE BILL” was delivered, along with hundreds of pens, to the Governor.
One of the participants, Gary Gunkel of South St. Paul, a former Army medic whose son who just left for Afghanistan this week, told reporters, “I’m here representing other vets who depend on the GAMC program being maintained and need this bill passed. I’m asking Governor Pawlenty to recognize the sacrifices members of the military have made and to honor our sacrifices by ensuring we have the access to health care that we need.”
On Thursday afternoon, the House Health Policy Committee passed the Berglin-Murphy bill and sent it to the Health Finance Committee.
