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Peter Hutchinson offers a six-step plan for solving health care Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Question: Rural education faces unique challenges because of declining enrollment. How can the state keep funding adequate for smaller schools with state funding based on enrollment?
Answer: The state made a deal with the education community to assume more of the cost of education and welched on the deal. School funding is so difficult because of the rising cost of health care. It's the cost that's rising the fastest, at two to four times revenue. If health care costs were under control and the state followed through on its promise to pay 70 percent of the cost of education schools would be better off.
Question: What can the state of Minnesota do to help the self-employed afford health care insurance?
Answer: "If we don't do something about health care É we're going to go bankrupt." Hutchinson and his lieutenant governor, a doctor, have put together an aggressive plan. The plan has six prescriptions and all must be followed.
No.1, administrative practices in health care must be standardized. If you go to the hospital for minor surgery, you get bills from the hospital, the doctor and there's all these codes and none of them connect. It's impossible to make heads or tails out of it. Requiring standard administrative practices will shave 10 percent off the cost of health care and save $800 million for the state government and four times that for all the state's residents, which would show up on premiums.
No. 2, we only pay for getting the right thing done right the first time, saving another 10 percent, driving the cost of health care down a total of $1.6 billion and making it more affordable. Also, eliminating unnecessary procedures.
No. 3, expect and require everyone to have health insurance. A third of the people in Minnesota who don't have health insurance could afford it, but don't have it. Farmers and small businesspeople should be allowed to pool their buying power. Create buying co-ops.
No. 4, give people incentives to take personal responsibility for their health. Give discounts to people who exercise regularly, don't smoke or keep their body weight down. Make it possible to see the benefits of doing the right thing. Adopt a statewide smoking ban.
No. 5, address the two public health epidemics: Smoking and obesity.
No. 6, is information sharing. Everybody should have access to who does health care best at the best price.
Question: What's the state's role in furthering the development of renewable fuels?
Answer: We as a state need to be ahead of the curve, we have to be inventing the technology, not chasing it. We have to set tough goals and set the trend. His goal is to have the first cellulosic ethanol plant in the nation up and running within the next eight years.
Question: How can the governor strengthen agriculture and the rural economy in Minnesota?
Answer: Fix health care. Second, keep looking for and finding value-added opportunities in agriculture. We can try to be lowest cost producer and compete against the entire world or find a way to be the highest value-added producer. Create a research endowment at the University of Minnesota to keep looking for the next opportunities.
Question: What is the role of the state agriculture department?
Answer: To be a champion for agriculture. Be a leader within the ag community and an advocate for the best ideas. Make sure communities have the best information so they can succeed.
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