Matt Dean Vows to Eliminate MNSure if Elected Governor

Replacement will Give More Control to Doctors and Patients

Healthcare
Healthcare

ST. PAUL, Minn.- In a recent campaign email, gubernatorial candidate and current Minnesota representative Matt Dean vowed to eliminate MNSure if he was elected governor.

“MNSure is an issue that really defines everything that is wrong with healthcare in Minnesota, with government getting between doctors and their patients,” Dean said to Alpha News, “Government has overstepped, and my plan would put doctors and patients back in control. Conservatives are looking for solutions this election cycle and not just for people to run against Democrat policies.”

MNSure is Minnesota’s public health insurance marketplace which allows individuals and small businesses to purchase health insurance at federally subsidized prices and was part of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare).

Dean says that he has been a longtime advocate for killing MNSure. A strong motivation for Dean has been the story of a Minnesotan man named Charlie Dunker, whose wife, Gail, was lost to cancer while MNSure prevented her from receiving lifesaving care.

“The time we spent fighting MNSure should have been the time we were fighting cancer,” Dunker said, “MnSure did not give Gail a chance to fight the cancer.”

A few years ago, when others thought we should fix MNsure and tinker around the edges, I knew the right thing to do was to kill it and do things the Minnesota way again,” the letter states.

Minnesota previously was not connected to the federal government in terms of health insurance. MNSure has come to face many of the problems which other Obamacare programs are experiencing, including skyrocketing premium costs and a market that is simply too small to support the high number of sick people using the service. Dean’s plan would cut the 3.5 percent property tax that keeps MNSure running.

“First and foremost, my plan eliminates MNsure,” Dean made clear, “The counties currently take care of those Minnesotans in most need. They have been bogged down by MNsure for years and continue to be forced to spend and hire more and more to try to catch up. This drives up local property taxes and drives everyone crazy. They need help and my plan will allow counties to provide better accountability over fraud and abuse and provide better care by giving them local control and a bigger say in IT choices.”

Dean wants eligibility for health insurance to be determined at the county level and to cut down on the amount of people who don’t qualify for health insurance. Through MNSure, Dean claimed, there were a lot of people who were from out of state receiving Minnesota’s healthcare benefits. Furthermore, the state was also the victim of multiple types of healthcare fraud, where payments were being made to people who were dead.

“I want to bring things back to our state again”, Dean claimed, “that’s why my plan will reestablish state control by disconnecting from the federal Obamacare data hub and determine eligibility at the state level.”

Many Republicans across see the federal data hub as a significant form of government overreach, as multiple agencies are feeding into the program, including Homeland Security (immigration status), Department of Veterans Affairs (veteran status), and the IRS (employment and income). Withdrawing from the federal data hub would give states the authority to set the limits on who is eligible for subsidies when it comes to healthcare, being as liberal or conservative in these standards as the state’s population feels sufficient.

Dean’s position on healthcare and abortion has garnered him the endorsement of former US Senator, Rick Santorum.

“Let’s face it, the federal government has made a mess of healthcare, and no state has paid a higher price than Minnesota,” Santorum exclaimed, “Minnesota can once again lead the country in healthcare instead of following Washington DC off the Obamacare cliff. Now more than ever, we need leaders with the integrity to do what’s right and not be blown off course by fear or fads.”

Henry Carras