| For Immediate Release | For more information contact: |
| January 23, 2001 | Jon Peterson (651-296-5989) |
(ST. PAUL) -- Rep. Rich Stanek (R-Maple Grove) renewed his call to eliminate the MinnesotaCare premium tax and provider tax, commonly known as the "sick tax" or "patient tax." The Health and Human Services Policy Committee held hearings last week on two bills to repeal these taxes.
"Taxing the sick is simply unfair," said Rep. Stanek. "The sick tax hurts everyone -- the senior citizen struggling to meet expenses, the farmer making out-of-pocket healthcare payments, the community clinic trying to hold down costs. It is time for the Legislature to wipe this harmful tax off the books."
Republican and DFL legislators, business organizations, unions, doctors, HMOs, and patients all agreed during the hearing that eliminating the sick tax should be a top priority for the Legislature this session. The tax discourages healthcare providers from locating in Minnesota, which jeopardizes our reputation for quality healthcare, they said.
House File 14, introduced by Rep. Fran Bradley (R-Rochester), would lift the provider tax and replace those funds with payments from the state's tobacco settlement proceeds. It would leave in place the mechanism for collecting the tax in the event that the healthcare access fund would face a shortfall in the future.
"The high cost of health care was a consistent theme during the elections," Rep. Bradley said. "Minnesotans spend more than $17 billion a year on healthcare. Eliminating the sick tax will help to control rising costs and encourage a healthier population."
The second bill discussed by the committee was House File 4, introduced by Rep. Ron Abrams (R-Minnetonka) to eliminate the sick tax and guarantee that consumers realize lower prices as a result.
"There are multiple taxes and fees that contribute to healthcare costs, but the sick tax is the one that hurts everybody. I am encouraged that the House of Representatives is standing solidly behind repealing the sick tax and lowering healthcare costs for all Minnesotans," said Rep. Stanek. "I encourage healthcare consumers across the state to call their state senator and the governor to urge them to do the same."
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