By Robin Brown, Capital Comments

Early on Saturday morning, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Health and Human Services Finance Bill with broad bipartisan support. This legislation delivers on our commitment to provide health care coverage for every child in Minnesota, and includes other significant provisions that are good for the health of our state.

Over the past few years, our state has cut thousands of Minnesotans from MinnesotaCare &8212; the state health insurance plan that was designed to provide affordable coverage for working Minnesotans.

Between 2001 and 2004, the number of uninsured working Minnesotans increased by 28 percent, a number that has grown significantly larger in the last two years.

Among children younger than 5, those without coverage grew from 4 to 7 percent, with an even higher percentage of uninsured kids &8212; close to 10 percent &8212; in rural parts of the state.

This adds up to almost 68,000 children in Minnesota who in all likelihood are not getting the medical care they need, especially when it comes to screenings and preventative care. An additional 32,000 young people between the ages of 18 to 20 also lack insurance.

This is a huge problem that cannot be fixed all at once. The House bill begins to address this issue by gradually phasing in health insurance for uninsured children in Minnesota; by 2011, every child in Minnesota will be covered.

Health care for our children needs to be a given. It cannot depend on income, where the parent’s work, or even if they have a job. This act takes a visionary approach that will once again make Minnesota a national leader in health care delivery.

Nursing home funding, another major concern for greater Minnesota, receives much-needed help in this bill.

In greater Minnesota, local nursing homes are a cornerstone of our communities – they enable us to keep our relatives close to home and provide a significant number of jobs. It is important that we pay the care providers who care for our parents and grandparents a livable wage. Under this bill, we begin the long-delayed process of reimbursing rural nursing homes for their actual costs.

This bill also includes significant reform proposals designed to bring the cost of health care down for the 93 percent of Minnesotans who are fortunate to have health insurance. Health care costs have increased by 12.54 percent each year, between the years of 2000 and 2005. During that same time period, per capita income rose by 3.1 percent. It is easy to see that the cost of health care is rapidly out-pacing the increase in income for most Minnesotans. Health care costs are quickly becoming one of the main budget items for the average Minnesota family.

The centerpiece of the reform measure is a provision that provides better access and uniformity to health cost information and lower costs through a medical home model, physician-directed care coordination, and payment system reforms.

Other highlights of the bill include:

– $393 million for rate increases for long term care providers

– $116 million in mental health initiatives

– $101 million to reduce Medicaid asset limits for elderly and disabled Minnesotans

– $28 million to reduce copays for Medicaid coverage of Medicare Part D

– $3 million to provide access to MinnesotaCare for farmers

Early childhood programs are also included in the Health Care bill. Childcare options are increased fees are reduced, and measure are included to shorten waiting lists – which can be especially long in Greater Minnesota.

This is truly a comprehensive health care bill that helps children, families, farmers, veterans, people with disabilities and those suffering mental illness. I’m hopeful these provisions will remain intact as the bill moves through conference committee and on to the governor.

Rep. Robin Brown can be reached at (651) 296- 8216, 337 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155 or via e-mail at rep.robin.brown@house.mn.