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Health care costs

Former U.S. Sen. David Durenberger presented the final report from the Minnesota Citizens Forum on Health Care Costs to the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee.

The group was convened last fall by Gov. Tim Pawlenty to lead a public discussion and to recommend solutions to rising health care costs.

The health share of gross domestic product is projected to grow from 14.9 percent in 2002 to 18.4 percent in 2013.

The panel made seven recommendations, including giving consumers more control, disclosing costs and quality, and providing incentives to encourage health improvement.

Rep. Fran Bradley (R-Rochester), the committee chair, said many of the recommendations are in a bill (HF1681) he is sponsoring.

“Minnesota has the potential to create the best health care system in the world,” Durenberger said. “We think we can actually pull this off.”


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