House Republican Committee Votes To Abolish MNsure
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Republicans on a State House Committee on Wednesday voted to abolish Minnesota's health care exchange.
The move comes just as Republicans in Washington, D.C., are preparing to repeal the federal health care law.
The committee voted to shut down MNsure and send Minnesota consumers to the federal health care exchange, called healthcare.gov. Democrats say canceling MNsure is wrong because of the uncertainty in Washington, D.C.
But Republicans say the exchange is too costly, and did not work properly.
"It was an audacious IT project that got foisted upon really good state workers that couldn't react in time and ended up hurting people," Rep. Matt Dean of the Health and Human Services Committee said.
"So we are facing a huge unknown and it is not a pretty picture. At the very moment where we are facing this, Republicans want to repeal our MNsure program and send Minnesotans to the federal government," Rep. Tina Liebling, a Democrat from Rochester, said.
Democratic Governor Mark Dayton on Wednesday defended MNsure, and said the exchange is operating more effectively than it ever has.
