Minnesota Care

You may know what the Minnesota Care program is. Maybe you’re on it. It’s likely that someone you know is. That’s because Minnesota Care provides health care for almost 150,000 people in Minnesota who don’t get affordable health coverage through their jobs.

However, the future of Minnesota Care is uncertain. This crucial safety net could be eliminated because of changes under the new federal health care law.

Over the next several months, our legislators and Governor Mark Dayton will make major decisions about the future of Minnesota Care.

We have a chance to save and improve Minnesota Care by creating what’s called a Basic Health Plan (BHP). A BHP would cover those people currently enrolled in Minnesota Care and would also cover tens of thousands more people. And, because a Basic Health Plan is paid for 95 percent by the federal government (unlike MinnesotaCare which is paid for only 50 percent by the federal government) we will see a far better return of the tax dollars we send to Washington.

As a volunteer for Senior Linkage and the Minnesota Council on Aging, I meet many folks in our community who receive their basic health care through the Minnesota Care Program. They have no other option and even this program does not cover all of their basic health needs. These are folks who have worked diligently at jobs throughout their lives, often minimum wage jobs with no employer provided health care. They are honest, hard working and proud folks.

The bottom line is that when people have access to health care, our entire communities are healthier. That’s wy I’m asking Gov. Dayton and my legislators to look into the issue and to fight to preserve, expand and improve Minnesota Care. I hope you to do the same.

Timothy Q. Moore

Lake Shore

Abusive behavior

Each day I turn on the news, fully expecting to hear of another shooting someplace by some deranged killer. Yes, it’s almost a daily event somewhere in this country.

A while back I was having coffee when someone who wasn’t a regular showed up at our clutch. We always welcome newcomers. This man seemed different, however, because in the course of the conversations he wanted to argue about everything. I firmly believe that at some point he was going to be arguing for something he was against minutes before. He finally worked himself up to the point where he stormed off and the rest of us just sat and looked at each other.

There is little we can do with people like this, who need help but don’t want to be helped. I‘m not insinuating that he was capable of violent behavior, beyond what he showed that day, and there are always going to be people like this. But this coupled with a blatant disregard for human life, as we have never seen it before in history in this country, can be the breeding ground for a disaster.

Wives and girlfriends if you have an abusive spouse or friend get away from them. Too many times you put up with the abuse until it escalates into what happened in that sandwich shop last week in

Cottage Grove. Maybe he is your meal ticket but getting beat up or killed for that makes no sense at all. If he follows you, call the police and demand they get involved and tell them you fear for your life. Don’t listen to the abusers excuses unless he agrees to get professional help and then tell him you will talk with him once he has proved he’s changed.

Mike Holst

Crosslake