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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Survey Shows Pressure Rising for Healthcare Reform

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Thursday, March 6, 2008   

St. Paul, MN – A new survey by AARP Minnesota finds Minnesota consumers overwhelmingly want lawmakers to approve health care reform this session. Spokeswoman Amy McDonough says there's strong support for access to comprehensive, affordable coverage.

"One of the most important findings was that 1 in 7 members say that it's difficult to pay out-of-pocket monthly medical expenses. And, 8 in 10 say that it is extremely important for them to maintain health care coverage."

She says too many Minnesota families are just one crisis away from bankruptcy. AARP members were at the state capitol Wednesday releasing the survey results.

McDonough says too often, the deciding factor in who has access to coverage is price.

"Every year, premiums and health care insurance costs go up and up and up for businesses and families. Yet as consumers, we're not getting more for our dollars. The discrepancies between what we're paying and what we're getting is getting bigger and bigger every year in Minnesota."

She says the system needs to provide consumers accurate and accessible information so they can make informed choices on various plans and options, make health care affordable, and make sure it's fair - that no one is priced out of the market because of age.

McDonough says there are a few "musts" for any reform plan.

"We want to make sure that health care bankruptcies in Minnesota are eliminated. We also think that there's an opportunity for legislators to have Minnesota regain its prominence in the health care field. We've been known for years as a state that takes full steps in health care reform, and we're really losing our leadership. So, we believe that state lawmakers need to act now so that we can regain that prominence."

According to the state Health Department, almost 400,000 Minnesotans don't have health insurance. In the survey, 7 in 10 AARP members said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports affordable coverage for all.

To view the survey results online, visit www.aarp.org/research.


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