Twin Cities religious leaders challenge proposed health cuts for poor
ELCA’s Minneapolis Area Synod Bishop condemns proposal
An advocacy voice for Roman Catholic, Jew-ish, Muslim and several mainline Christian denominations in Minnesota called on the Minnesota Legislature and the citizens of Minnesota, January 31, to reject Governor Pawlenty’s plan to send termination notices to over 41,000 people insured by MinnesotaCare.
“Cutting people off from access to health care is unacceptable — it is morally wrong and fails any standard of compassion and human decency,” said Brian Rusche, executive director of the Joint Religious Legis-lative Coalition (JRLC).
“Minnesotans by the thousands are increasingly insecure about their health care. We desperately need leadership and real reforms. The Governor is balancing the budget on people in the shadows of life: people with mental illness, widows, veterans, people with disabilities.”
Bishop Craig Johnson, who leads the ELCA’s Minneapolis Area Synod, said, “We can do much better than take a blunt ax to the last coverage available to vulnerable people. The Governor’s budget fails to give us real reforms and simply increases the number of uninsured.”
Sister Mary Heinen of the Catholic Health Association explained that health care needs of the people dropped from coverage do not go away — they will receive delayed and more complicated care in the most expensive setting [hospital emergency rooms].
