DFL counter proposal keeps health care in play
DFL House and Senate leaders have made a counter offer to Governor Pawlenty for balancing the budget, and a health care proposal for the poor is still in play.
The DFL proposal would give the governor authority to decide whether to leverage federal health care money to expand Medicaid coverage. The next governor would have the same authority. DFL House Majority Leader Tony Sertich said the proposal would also help rural hospital with a fix to the current General Assistance Medical Care law.
"Right now, the way I understand it is, the Pawlenty administration negotiated with some metro hospitals and gave them a better deal that they didn't offer our rural hospitals," Sertich said. "And this would just open it up and make sure rural hospital were treated fairly."
Sertich said he didn't like Governor Pawlenty's earlier budget proposal, which took the health care issue off the table, because he said it would set the stage for a special session that should be avoided.
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