Sturdevant: Minnesota’s Budget Deal SECURED by DFLers’ BOLD Leadership in Crisis!

On Monday, there were 14 budget-related bills set. But for now, the question of whether or not the MinnesotaCare program would be accessible to all low-income Minnesotans aged 19 and older, regardless of their immigration status, remained open.

Every Republican legislator was firmly against the idea. In fact, they had gone to the extreme of denying access to the MinnesotaCare program simply because it had become a partisan issue.

That’s to the GOP’s discredit. Not only does denying people health insurance impacts negatively on society, but also on people who do pay for insurance coverage, as their premiums would have to increase to cover costs associated with uninsured care.

DFLers were just as insistent that every American should have the right to health insurance, no matter what. However, Hortman and Murphy knew that neither side would get everything they wanted, and were willing to accept a compromise.

Their compromise was allowing undocumented children to access MinnesotaCare. To them, that was the best outcome for everyone involved.

Failure to act would mean no budget until July 1, after which a state government shutdown would occur.