In Health care looms large in elections, political reporter Heather Carlson reports:
Mayo Clinic lobbied hard for the Medicaid expansion in the final hours of the legislative session.[emphasis added] The clinic, while not taking an official position on the federal health care bill, has praised several measures in the bill. That includes efforts to change how providers are paid, with the goal of paying for quality instead of quantity.
Demmer said he wasn't personally called by Mayo Clinic representatives seeking his support on the issue.[emphasis added] However, he did say that he believes in the long run that opting in to the Medicaid expansion would hurt the clinic. He believes the federal health care bill represents a step toward a single-payer, government-run health care system.
This is fascinating material. Carlson reports that Mayo Clinic lobbied hard for Medicaid early enrollment, while Demmer states that he wasn't personally called by the health care giant that is a major force in the region he serves.
One wonders why, if Mayo Clinic is lobbying hard, Demmer was overlooked by the clinic's representatives. Perhaps even more importantly, does Demmer need personal stroking from one of the key players in Minnesota's health care system?
What exactly was the nature of the contact between Demmer and the Mayo Clinic? What about it led him to believe that he knows better about the needs of the clinic that he claims doesn't personally call him?
Demmer is the endorsed Republican candidate seeking to take Tim Walz's seat. That the district was once Republican seems to be the argument that endorsed Republicans make against the incumbent (that, and the "Drill Here, Drill Now" thingie in 2008. Lovely).
For more information on the early enrollment issue, see my earlier post: Republican love for partisan catch phrase to cost Minnesota hospitals $100 million statewide.
Photo: The Mayo Bros didn't personally call Representative Demmer about adequate funding for their clinic.
Comments