NEWS RELEASE: PREMIUMS VS PAYCHECKS - A GROWING HEALTH CARE CRISIS IN MINNESOTA

A report released today by Families USA confirms what most Minnesotans already know: their paychecks are not keeping up with the skyrocketing cost of their health care premiums. As a result of this growing disparity between premiums and wages, families have less money for other basic essentials, such as food, clothing and heating fuel.
“Rising health care costs play a key role in the economic insecurity Minnesota families are feeling,” said State Rep. Paul Thissen, chair of the House Health and Human Services Policy Committee. “With health care becoming more and more unaffordable, many are forced to make difficult choices when it comes to providing for their families.
For some, it’s a matter of cutting back on other essentials, or reducing their standard of living. For others, these staggering costs are forcing them to join the ranks of the uninsured and underinsured.”
The report compares the rise in health care premiums to the rise in median income in Minnesota from the year 2000 – 2007. In that time, premiums rose a whopping 73.8%, while income increased by 17.1%. In other words, the cost of health insurance premiums rose 4.3 times faster than earnings.
To make matters worse, according to Thissen, at the same time premiums have increased dramatically, coverage has actually diminished.
“Not only are we paying more, we are getting less,” said Thissen. “Deductibles and co-pays have increased, and policies are paying for fewer services that people need, squeezing the family paycheck even further.”
Over the past two years, the Minnesota House took the first steps in addressing this growing health care crisis by expanding coverage to more people, making critical investments in preventing chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, and establishing an affordability standard to make sure that health care coverage is within reach of everyone in the state. Thissen said it is critical that more progress be made in the upcoming session to address the growing health care crisis.
“There are some basic obligations we owe each other – access to affordable health care is one of them,” said Thissen. “This is a challenge that must be met; we need to have the political courage to reform our health care system so every Minnesotan can afford the medical treatment they deserve.”