Daily Digest: Dems blast GOP health plan
Good morning, and welcome to Thursday. Here's the Digest:
1. Gov. Mark Dayton and U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison say the plan by Republicans in Washington to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act would take billions of dollars out of Minnesota's health care system. The two Democrats held a news conference with community groups Wednesday. Dayton described the potential effects as dire. “There’s no way the state has the ability to afford to pick up those additional costs. They talk about giving governors more flexibility. The only flexibility we’re going to be given is deciding who to cut and what to cut. That’s the only flexibility that’s available when you get that kind of drastic reduction.” (MPR News)
2. People with Blue Cross insurance coverage are facing potentially higher costs for care at the state's largest pediatric hospital. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and Children's Minnesota said a deadline passed Wednesday with no agreement on a new contract. The dispute affects more than 66,000 patients with employer-provided and individual coverage plans. Blue Cross says more than 4,000 of those members will temporarily continue care at Children's, but will be transitioned to other pediatric hospitals when they can be safely moved. Children's blamed the impasse on Blue Cross demands that the health system said would have resulted in a substantial Medicaid reimbursement cut and a stop to inflationary increases. Blue Cross says Children's is already among the state's most profitable and wanted bigger reimbursement increases than other Minnesota hospitals and physicians. (MPR News)
3. Gov. Mark Dayton is organizing town halls throughout Minnesota to discuss water quality. The Democratic governor has made improving the state's drinking and recreational waters a top priority for his final term in office. He spearheaded a new law requiring buffer zones between cropland and waterways and defended it from GOP attempts to repeal it. But Dayton says there's more work to be done. His office announced Wednesday 10 meetings throughout the summer to help develop water strategies throughout the state. They include meetings in Rochester, Marshall, Ely, Stillwater and more. (AP via MPR News)
4. The anticipated shutdown of walleye fishing this month on Lake Mille Lacs, even catch and release, is about to take effect this week and last for most of the rest of the month in an effort to preserve the struggling population of the prized species. Combined with a night-fishing ban already in place on the popular 207-square-mile lake, walleye fishing will come to a halt starting at 10:01 p.m. Thursday and last until 6:01 a.m. on July 28. "Conserving the Mille Lacs walleye fishery is a top priority for [the] DNR, and the closure is happening when fish are most vulnerable to stress from warm weather and high fishing [demand]," said Don Pereira, fisheries chief for the state Department of Natural Resources. (Star Tribune)
5. Republican Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who was wounded last month when a gunman opened fire on a Republican baseball practice in Alexandria, Va., is back in intensive care because of concerns about infection. He is listed in serious condition. Scalise, 51, who is the No. 3 Republican in the House, had been moved out of intensive care on June 22 after undergoing multiple surgeries. At that time, his condition was described as fair. He had been in that unit since the shooting on June 14. Four other people were shot in the attack but Scalise was the most seriously wounded. (NPR)
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