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Letter sent to Senator Linda Berglin supporting MinnesotaCareApril 29, 2005 Dear Senator Berglin: While we may be experiencing tough times economically in Minnesota, it is important that any budget cuts be prudent. We do not believe there is wisdom in cutting single adults without children from MinnesotaCare. We ask your support in opposing these cuts and our reasons follow. MinnesotaCare provides medical coverage for low income working Minnesotans who do not have other insurance options. Many, by your own estimates 27% of those scheduled to be cut, have mental illness. All who are cut will then have no other choice but to quit their job and have a large cash spend down if they expect to qualify for General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC). This will be devastating. Work provides an important focus and direction to all our lives. Work, for people with mental illness, is now viewed as an important part of recovery. Work helps them manage their symptoms or recover completely. Without work, mentally ill people often drift. Life may then become for them a cycle of coffee, cigarettes and television while rotating in and out of hospital wards. This is how it was for many of them before the importance of work was recognized. You have long been an advocate for disadvantaged people. We ask that you continue that tradition. Thank you for all of your efforts. Sincerely,
Helen Palmer Other Public Statements: |
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