Paul Thissen: Innovation in Action

Session Weekly: Being Informed About Crime

Clarence Schadegg wants to know when a crime alert is issued for his Richfield neighborhood.

Because he is blind, it has not always been easy to do so.

The problem, Schadegg said, is that the e-mail notification often comes as a PDF file attachment, something that is not compatible with all reader software. He has gotten the Richfield Police Department to send its alerts with both a PDF and Word file attached.

Sponsored by Rep. Paul Thissen (DFL-Mpls), HF254 states: “If a law enforcement agency provides a crime alert to citizens within its jurisdiction, the alerts and any accompanying documents must be in a form that a disabled person can access with a commercially available text-based screen reader software.”

Amended and approved by the House Crime Victims/Criminal Records Division, the bill was sent to the House Public Safety Policy and Oversight Committee.

Its companion, SF265, sponsored by Sen. Ken Kelash (DFL-Mpls), awaits action by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The bill would also classify as private the names and contact information of citizens requesting a crime alert.

A Do Something Governor

Introduction/Background

During Pawlenty’s last campaign he just spewed lies after lies. He’s has done nothing to help education, he’s a true republican. He also abandoned Minnesota when he believed he was going to be a V.P. pick. for two years he put Minnesota on the back burner. His most embarrassing moment was not standing up for Minnesota when we endured a horrific bridge collapse. He allowed Mccain to blame pork barrel spending. No one blamed pork barrel spending on 9-11.

My Idea

My idea is to have a governor who has both his states and country’s interest at heart, a governor who wants to fight for Minnesota, not a national spot light job.

My idea is to start early and remind Minnesotan’s just how little Tim Pawlenty and his cronies have done in the past 8 years.

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MN Progressive Project Posts Rep. Thissen’s Response to Gov. Pawlenty

CONTRASTING VISIONS FOR MINNESOTA

Paul Thissen, MN Progressive Project, January 27, 2009

Minnesotans have always placed great value on building institutions that stand the test of time and that won’t easily break in hard times.  For six years, Governor Pawlenty has pursued the opposite course — breaking down community institutions instead of maintaining them and building new ones for a new century.  Today, that vision came into sharp relief.

Take just one example – health care.

In today’s budget proposal, the Governor advocated the elimination of insurance coverage for over 100,000 Minnesotans and raising the cost of insurance for people with private insurance by reducing the provider rate for hospitals.

In other words, the Governor is going back twenty years or more and breaking our state’s long-standing commitment to make health care affordable for working Minnesotans.

But it is worse than that.  The Governor’s cuts pose the real possibility of closed clinics, hospitals and nursing homes statewide.  Those closures affect everyone in a community.

It is also a foolish strategy when job retention and creation are crucial to our economic recovery.  Cutting hundreds of millions of health care dollars will weaken one of the largest economic sectors in our state – the health care industry.  In the last year alone, Twin City hospitals have eliminated over 1,200 jobs.  And according to estimates, the Governor’s proposed cuts will mean a reduction of over $1 billion in economic activity in Minnesota, the elimination of more than 9,300 jobs and the loss of over $400 million in wages and salaries in Minnesota.  That is not a recipe for an economic recovery.

Contrast Governor Pawlenty’s diminished vision of our state with legislation — the Minnesota Health Security Act — that I will proudly present in the House Health and Human Services Committee tomorrow.

It starts with a simple premise that every Minnesotan can rally around:  Every Minnesota child — and ultimately every Minnesotan — should be able to see a doctor or a nurse when he or she needs to.

While we have made signficant progress in making that vision a reality, 80,000 children in Minnesota continue to live without health insurance and are just one health care crisis away from catastrophe.

And we need to say loud and clear that 80,000 children without health coverage remains unacceptable in Minnesota, budget crisis or not.   Most certainly, the current economic crisis does nothing to diminish the need for quality, affordable health care for all the children in this state.  In fact, I would argue that the state’s current economic crisis is exactly the time when we need to act boldly.

As pointed out earlier, affordable, meaningful health care for all, starting with children, is a necessary part of an economic recovery, especially if we want that recovery to be sustainable and stable.

The Minnesota Health Security Act would provide the type of immediate help thousands of Minnesota families need today whether they are facing the threat of a foreclosure due to unpaid medical bills or have recently lost a job and are struggling to afford the costs of coverage.

Businesses, especially small businesses, in Minnesota would see immediate relief from rising health insurance costs.

But even more than the mechanics of the bill, the Minnesota Health Security Act is important because it presents a vision and a pathway to a health care system that works for Minnesotans and that is there for them.

The legislature’s job is about more than balancing a budget on time.  Now is the time to take our larger leadership obligations seriously.

Governor’s Budget Proposal Threatens Health of Minnesota

State Rep. Paul Thissen said the Governor’s plan to balance the state budget hits the health and human services budget the hardest, threatening both the short-term and long-term health of not just Minnesotans, but our state economy.

“If enacted, the Governor’s cuts will cause higher prices, loss of coverage and services for tens of thousands of Minnesotans, and possibly shut down clinics and hospitals statewide,” said Thissen. “These closures affect everyone in a community -we can’t let that happen.”

Thissen said that at a time when job retention and creation are crucial to our economic recovery, the proposed cuts will weaken one of the strongest economic sectors in our state – the health care industry. In the last year alone, Twin City hospitals have eliminated over 1,200 jobs, watched their uncompensated care and bad debt skyrocket, and even closed facilities.

According to estimates, the Governor’s proposed cuts will mean a reduction of over $1 billion in economic activity in Minnesota, the elimination of 9,300 jobs and the loss of over $400 million in wages and salaries in Minnesota.

“That is not a recipe for an economic recovery,” said Thissen.

The Governor’s budget proposal imposes a disproportionate share of cuts on health care when compared to other areas. He eliminated insurance coverage for over 100,000 Minnesotans, tightened waivers for the disabled and raised the cost of insurance for people with private insurance by reducing the provider rate for hospitals.

“The Governor is going back twenty years and breaking a long-standing commitment to make health care affordable for working Minnesotans,” said Thissen.

In addition, he cut the $47 million in public health spending that was included in last year’s health care reform bill. These public health dollars were focused on keeping people healthy rather than treating catastrophic illnesses.

“The only way to bend the curve on increasing health care costs and premiums is to continue to make investments in the things that will bring down that curve in the long term,” said Thissen. “Again, his focus on avoiding short term political crises while ignoring long-term consequences of his decisions is on clear display.”

In December, the Governor cut $73 million from the health and human services budget to address the immediate budget shortfall; those cuts were primarily to hospitals and medical education.

“Minnesotans have always placed great value on building institutions that stand the test of time and that won’t easily break in hard times,” said Thissen. “For six years, Governor Pawlenty has pursued a course of breaking down community institutions instead of maintaining them and building new ones for a new century.

“Try as he might to avoid it, the reality is that the economic crisis and the deep budget deficit is not just the fall-out of national and international economic problems. It is also a Minnesota problem and he needs to own up to his responsibility for it.”

Rep. Thissen is the Chair of the House Health and Human Services Policy Committee

KARE-11 on the “Cover All Kids” Legislation

LOCAL LAWMAKERS PUSH HEALTH INSURANCE FOR ALL CHILDREN

Christine O’Donnell, KARE 11 News, January 26, 2009

“It’s hard enough to get insurance as an adult, and when you find out your children won’t be covered, it’s even more difficult;” mother of two, Jenviera Cook said.

She and her husband, Joe Cook have gone through piles of paperwork hoping to get their children health coverage after Joe lost his job and Jenviera was moved to a temp worker.

“It’s really a scary process. You fill out all the paperwork, jump through all the hoops and there’s really no one taking your hand, letting you know what to do, letting you know that yes, this did go through, you don’t need to worry about it. It’s a big question mark and certainly something that could be improved on;” Joe Cook said.

DFL Senator Linda Berglin and DFL Representative Paul Thissen announced the “Cover All Kids” bill Monday. The legislation is designed to ensure that all children in Minnesota have access to health insurance.

“We don’t do a good enough job in this state that of making sure people that are eligible for coverage get it;” Thissen said.

The plan will be similar to the one in place through BadgerCare in Wisconsin. There will be no four month waiting period between insurance and eligibility in place for child applicants with MinnesotaCare. Children under the 200% of the federal poverty guidelines will not be charged premiums to participate in the MinnesotaCare program. Children in families above the 200% FPG can still qualify for MinnesotaCare, but will be charged an additional premium based on a sliding-fee scale, according to Berglin.

The funding for this bill would come from additional S-CHIP dollars and MinnesotaCare dollars that will be freed up by the stimulus plan; Berglin said.

“It would come down to paying the rent or insurance for my children;” Security guard, Howard Worley said.

He and his wife have four children and don’t have enough money to afford the healthcare offered by Worley’s employer.

It took Worley two years to pay off the hospital bills after his son developed a face infection.

An obstacle both the Worley’s and the Cook’s shared was not being able to afford the insurance offered by their employers.

“Whether you’re living in Minnetonka in a big huge home or your living in a Kenmore box down by the river, all children should have the same healthcare;” Worley said.