Saturday, April 17, 2010

They courageously ran away

Outstate GAMC patients were out of luck, in luck, back out of luck, sort of in luck, and now out of luck again:

A revamped state health care program for about 37,000 of the poorest and sickest Minnesotans will start June 1. But with funding cut to one-fourth of the projected costs, it appears that only five of 17 qualifying hospitals have agreed to provide the care -- none outside the Twin Cities area.

You’ll remember that the governor “unallotted” the GAMC program last spring; the Legislature voted to restore GAMC early in the session by substantial margins; Governor Gutshot vetoed the bill and every Republican in the Legislature turned and ran; the veto was sustained. Then, a “compromised” bill emerged; the one described in the linked article.

You mean a compromise bill, don’t you Spot?

No, grasshopper, I mean compromised. Principles were compromised by the legislators who voted for this sham. Paul Thissen, who voted against it, said this:

Members, there is a fine line between compromise and caving in.  We are not on the right side of that line this time.

The evidence of rightness of Paul’s remarks is starting to come in.

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