Health care should be a prominent election focus

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Kudos to Minnesota Star Tribune reporter Chris Snowbeck for his ongoing work helping to put health care policy front and center in the Nov. 5 election.

In 2024, U.S. health care is really expensive, and Minnesota families are feeling the pinch. Patients and families, when asked, say they’re very concerned (many anxious) over real or potential family health care costs. They want access to quality health care professionals, and they want dependable third-party health insurance coverage. They don’t want to haggle with doctors, care providers or health plans over the price of specific drugs or procedures. Yet in today’s health care system, patients and families have little say in the matter of the medical bill.

Clearly, who dominates government health care policy at the Minnesota Legislature and in Congress matters a great deal. Who’ll best represent voters as health care consumers and stakeholders?

In 2024, most Democrats proclaim that universal medical care coverage is a civil right (including access to elective abortions during pregnancy and “gender affirming” hormones and surgeries). Portraying themselves as patient advocates who’ll regulate the prices for patient care and services provided by “price-gouging” drug manufacturers, pharmacy benefit managers, physicians and insurance companies.

Republicans say they want a mixture of government and private health care coverage with eligibility for patients and families based on the patient’s need, disability status and income. The GOP opposes universal government Medicare or Medicaid health care for all, citing prohibitive cost, bureaucratic inefficiency, and the stifling of provider competition and consumer empowerment.

Yet, it is Minnesota health care producers who are the 800-pound gorillas. For example, the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota’s largest employer, plans a $5 billion expansion in Rochester, while the Mayo Health Care System continues to procure rural hospitals.

Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest insurance/provider, continues to buy up private medical practices and health care businesses. UnitedHealth also runs public programs. Obviously how other powerful corporations such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield and insurance companies envision public health care policy “reform” is crucial to their business bottom lines and their numerous employees.

On the academic side, the University of Minnesota continues negotiating with Fairview while rejecting Sanford Health as a suitor, and the Legislature is involved deciding funding and control our flagship teaching hospital and medical school.

Notably, policy at the Legislature in 2023 turned on a dime when powerful Mayo threatened to direct investment to other states if Minnesota didn’t nix proposed legislation.

So, Star Tribune readers, please chime in on health care policy! The patient’s medical bill is a good place to start.

Dr. Lee Beecher, of Maple Grove, is a retired psychiatrist.