Will You Pay More?
Hospitals must care for all patients
In the final days of the 2009 session, Governor Pawlenty and state legislators couldn’t agree on a solution to the budget deficit, so the governor cut GAMC. However, by law, hospitals are required to continue to care for patients that come for emergency care. Two safety net hospitals – Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and Regions Hospital in Saint Paul - care for 65 percent of patients who rely on GAMC to pay their medical bills. On top of that, these two hospitals absorb the most charity care in Minnesota. .
Tough choice: pass on costs or cut services
Hospitals can’t afford to provide free care for thousands of patients. With the elimination of GAMC, hospitals face two difficult choices. The first is to pass costs on to other health care consumers which would result in higher premiums and co-payments for people who have insurance. The second option is to cut services. These include adult and pediatric trauma centers, burn centers and disaster centers among many others that aren’t available at other hospitals. Where will east metro residents and others go if they have a major car accident, get hit by a tornado, or if the Twin Cities came under a bioterrorism attack? Will they have to wait longer if their child needs to go to an emergency department? Will demand on police and public safety resources increase when more patients can't afford medication for mental illness?
Need a solution
We don’t want to shift costs or cut services. Neither do the great majority of Minnesotans, regardless of their political affiliation. The state’s poorest residents will lose their health care coverage on April 1 if nothing is done. We have no time to lose; we must fix this now.