Democrats are pushing to extend a two-percent tax on health care providers which expires at the end of the year, so the state-run MinnesotaCare health insurance program can continue operating or even expand. Rochester Representative Tina Liebling says about the provider tax, “Either the repeal of the sunset, or some other mechanism to replace that revenue, is essential for the stability of the state.” House Republican Minority Leader Kurt Daudt responds, “It won’t surprise anyone that Democrats, in order to solve the problem of rising health care costs, are going to increase the cost of health care in the state of Minnesota.”
Republicans say free market competition — not government programs — is the only way to reduce health care costs in Minnesota.