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"The future does not belong to those who sit on the sidelines." — Senator Paul Wellstone
19
Jeff Johnson can’t ‘recall’ voting to throw thousands of Minnesotans off health care
Posted by SD48 DFL Communications Team in News
Another day, more evidence Jeff Johnson just doesn’t know what he is talking about
Jeff Johnson, MPR Capitol View
At a press conference yesterday, Jeff Johnson again couldn’t answer a simple question when he was asked, “When you were in the legislature, did you vote to cut funds for people getting on MinnesotaCare during the budget in 2003?” [9/18/14]
His answer: “I don’t recall.” [9/18/14]
Johnson did in fact vote for HF6, the Health and Human Services bill that resulted in an estimated 38,000 Minnesotans losing their health care, according to MPR.
“The fact that Jeff Johnson can’t “recall” casting such a momentous vote is pretty astounding,” said DFL Chairman Ken Martin. “Either he is being dishonest with Minnesota voters, or he just doesn’t know what he is talking about.
“Jeff Johnson’s health plan is to take away health care by repealing MNsure and going back to the days when people couldn’t get coverage if they had a preexisting condition and health insurance didn’t cover basic services like doctor visits and mammograms.”
According to the Minnesota Budget Project, House File 6 did more than just throw thousands of Minnesotans off of health care however, it also resulted in:
- 1,200 Minnesota families losing their child care assistance as a result of a 50 percent cut in funding for the Basic Sliding Fee program. Those who continued to receive assistance faced copayments that were an average of 57 percent higher for families of three or four — an additional $936 a year for a family of four earning $32,200.
- An estimated 56,000 parents seeking help from the state in collecting owed child support will be charged new fees of one percent of the amount collected
- Cuts to the Emergency Services Program, which funded 26 emergency shelters and agencies serving the homeless, were expected to lead to hundreds more persons being turned away from shelters due to insufficient space.
- Budget cuts to programs serving battered women, crime victims, victims of sexual assault, and abused children mean less access to services.
- Increased feeds for parents who receive services that enable them to care for their disabled children in their own homes. These fee increases could be several thousand dollars a year.
- More than 6,800 low-income families with disabled family members participating in the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) lost at least $125 per month in assistance — a total of $1,500 a year.
But these things just don’t appear to be worth remembering for Jeff Johnson.