Governor Opposes Democrat Health Care Bill

The Minnesota Senate will take another look at a major health care reform bill this week as Senators return from Easter Break. The bill was constructed from testimony generated by the House/Senate Health Access Committee and the Governor's Task Force on Health Care Transformation but the bill has gone through variations and a number of versions. Governor Pawlenty spokesman Alex Carey said the governor won't be behind this version, primarily because its an expansion of current propgrams without saving taxpayer money and helping business lower the cost of health care and health insurance. Carey said 93% of Minnesotans have health insurance now and that's where the bill's cost-saving focus should be. The bill was supposed to be debated last week on the Senate floor but enough Republicans and Democrats found elements of the bill they didn't like and the bill was pulled from consideration. Fort Ripley State Senator Paul Koering said if the governor indicates he'll veto the final result, there's no point in going through the mostions with this bill.