This just in from the Walz campaign:
Minnesotans Say Dr. Brian Davis’s Call to Cut Minimum Standards of Health Care is “Scary, Even For Halloween”
( Mankato and Rochester , Minn. ) – A group of southern Minnesota residents held press conferences today to say that they are sending a letter to Republican Congressional candidate Dr. Brian Davis to express concern about his call to eliminate certain health insurance requirements, like those in Minnesota that require treatment for specific diseases.
Dr. Davis has repeatedly said that Minnesota ’s minimum standards of care for health insurance companies—which require the treatment of diseases like diabetes and alcoholism, as well as cancer screenings—are responsible for driving up the cost of health care. As a result, Dr. Davis has called for fewer of these requirements.
"I don’t agree with Dr. Davis that Minnesota ’s health insurance requirements ‘take away choice,’” said Mary Bliesmer. “These minimum standards prevent insurance companies from taking advantage of people. Dr. Davis is on the side of the insurance companies and eliminating laws that require coverage of lifesaving treatment is pretty scary, even for Halloween.”
“We’re fortunate that here in Minnesota , we’ve got laws that protect people by guaranteeing that their insurance companies will cover important treatments and services,” said Becky Cole from Mankato . “Dr. Davis said we should eliminate many of these protections, and that worries me.”
“Real cost savings in health care come with reduced physician error, government negotiated drug prices, payment reform that rewards outcomes over volume, and inter-operable medical records to reduce duplication, and improve case management,” said State Senator Kathy Sheran of Mankato. “I am disappointed Dr. Davis offered as his center piece of health reform a proposal that increases the insurance company’s control, and restricts the power of the people to set minimum expectations for health care coverage.”
“We cannot keep tweaking a broken system of health care, and that is my primary disagreement with Dr. Davis,” said Dr. Syl Sterioff. “His suggestion that eliminating some of the requirements Minnesota imposes on insurance companies will be transformative is the wrong focus.”
“These minimum standards of care help protect people from being taken advantage of by their health insurance companies,” said Colleen Clark, a nurse. “ If Dr. Davis wants to cut back on them, that’s pretty important for voters to know.”
“In Minnesota , our laws help make sure people will get the health care they need,” said Wes Urevig, of Rochester . “The Star Tribune said that Dr. Davis’s years as a physician ‘apparently haven't inspired passion for fixing the nation's health care system or deep insights.’ I think that we can do better, so I’m supporting Tim Walz.”
A letter sent by the group to Davis is [downloadable here (pdf)].
Davis: We Need Fewer State Mandates. “We need to have fewer state mandates so we can have a more uniform market across the country.” [Fairmont Debate, 10/2/08]
Davis: State Mandates ‘Take Away Choice.’ “It would make a lot of sense if there was some uniformity in what are mandated things to cover and what aren’t in a particular health insurance policy. The more that a state does that, the more that they take away choice.” [Minnesota Debate, 10/13/08]
Davis: We Need Uniformity In State Mandates: “I think that how we’re going to reduce health insurance costs is that we [are going to] have some uniformity across state lines, so that you can buy insurance in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and have some uniformity of coverage.” [Minnesota Debate, 10/13/08]
Davis: Minnesota’s Health Insurance Mandates Drive Up Costs: “Because Minnesota has more requirements than any other state, Maryland is second, that does help drive up some of the cost of health insurance.” [KSTP debate, 10/12/08]
Minnesota’s Health Insurance Mandates Cover Treatment for Alcoholism, Diabetes and Cancer Screenings. Minnesota’s health insurance mandates cover a variety of treatments and services, including alcoholism, diabetes, bone marrow transplants, and cancer screenings [Council for Affordable Health Insurance, http://www.cahi.org/cahi_contents/resources/pdf/HealthInsuranceMandates2008.pdf; Minnesota State Statute, Chapter 62A, https://webrh12.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=62A]
Davis Would Cut Health Care Costs By Allowing Insurance Companies To Not Cover Certain Illnesses. “Davis also said that he would work to reduce health care costs by introducing market competition in the insurance market and eliminating state regulations that mandate coverage for certain illnesses and conditions.” [Rochester Post-Bulletin, 9/15/2008]
Star Tribune: Davis Has No ‘Deep Insights’ Into Health Care. “His years as a physician apparently haven't inspired passion for fixing the nation's health care system or deep insights. His standard-issue proposals contrast unfavorably with the fiery expertise of his boss, Mayo CEO Dr. Denis Cortese, who campaigned nationally this year for systemic overhaul.” [Star Tribune editorial, 10/27/2008]
Photo: (Above) Seriously, Murray, one of 15 black cats available for adoption at the Winona Area Humane Society, isn't scary. In today's Winona Daily News, we read: ""They're not bad luck," says Deborah Stowe, Humane
Society vice president. "They need a home, too." " Please consider adopting a shelter kitteh, especially a black one, since superstition makes them hard to place. Photo from Winona Daily News.
(Left) Our friend Laura snapped this picture of a Walz jack o' lantern. For more hopeful ideas for pumpkin decoration, go to Yes We Carve | Change Your Pumpkin, Change Your World
And yes, go volunteer for GOTV at the Walz campaign.
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