Schwitzer health news blog

Minnesota proud to be at bottom of this list

In his newsletter last week, former US Senator David Durenberger wrote:

"WE ARE N0. 50
Usually Minnesotans don't brag about being 50th among the states. But when it's the number of us without health insurance we're pleased to be there. A new Minnesota Department of Health study shows 374,000, or 7.2%, of us were without insurance in 2007. The REAL news is that 200,464 of us are eligible for some form of government-subsidized health care but haven't signed up for it. That leaves only 173, 536 without insurance of whom 79,810 are above 300% of the federal poverty guidelines (meaning $51,510 income for a family of three). Mandates anyone?

LONE STAR EQUITY
Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured residents in the nation and among the lowest per capita rate of taxation. It has no income tax and Governor Rick Perry last month suspended the state's unemployment compensation tax which is required to match federal taxes on business to meet unemployment claims. The Governor says there is little unemployment in Texas and its job growth is twice the national average.

If you are conservative, you salute Texas for it's low/no tax policy. If you are liberal, you point to the problem we have as a nation in relying on state government to finance access to human services for all except through the job market. There is no demographic question but what jobs and economic growth, for-profit health care, retiree sales tax payers, and folks who can afford private schools and living without six months of snow and ice relish living in the south. The military bases have all been down south for a long time and the northern automobile and other large manufacturing jobs have adapted to this reality as well. Federal spending is disproportionately headed south rather than north to make low/no tax policies easier.

If you really care about insuring all kids or about universal coverage in health care or consumer choice in housing, health, education and public services you need to decide something right now. All states are not equal. But the Constitution and its Bill of Rights say all Americans are. A national income security policy, if we had one, would recognize the need to change our entitlement mentality and our entitlement programs. States are labs of change, but not of income security. Put the same rate of tax on income, sales, and property in two southern states like Texas and Mississippi, and you end up raising only half as much money for income security or public services in MS as you do in TX. Think about it. Before it's too late."