Minnesota Statutes Insurance (Ch. 59A-79a) § 62J.01. Findings

The legislature finds that substantial numbers of Minnesotans have no health care coverage and that most of these residents are wage earners or their dependents. One-third of these individuals are children.

The legislature further finds that when these individuals enter the health care system they have often forgone preventive care and are in need of more expensive treatment that often exceeds their financial resources. Much of the cost for these uncompensated services to the uninsured are already in the health care system in the form of increased insurance and provider rates and property and income taxes.

The legislature further finds that these costs, spread among the already insured, represent a woefully inefficient method for providing basic preventive and acute care for the uninsured and represent an added cost to employers now providing health insurance to their employees.

The legislature further finds that it is necessary to ensure basic and affordable health care to all Minnesotans while addressing the economic pressures on the health care system as a whole in Minnesota.