The Minnesota Senate passed a bill that would allow more Minnesotans to buy into MinnesotaCare, the state’s health care assistance program.
The bill would raise the income cap to buy into MinnesotaCare to $55,000 annually for a family of four. The cap is currently set at $39,000.
“We know that the current healthcare system is not working for everyone,” Sen. Melissa Wiklund (DFL) said during a Health and Human Services committee meeting on March 30. “Too many people are being left behind, unable to access or afford needed care for themselves or for their loved ones.”
The bill seeks to reduce the number of uninsured or under-insured Minnesotans. The Minnesota Department of Health Services estimates that 300,000 Minnesotans do not have any health insurance, with a disproportionate amount of those being Black, Indigenous, or people of color. Seventeen percent of that group is estimated to be undocumented immigrants.
The bill also expands the public option to undocumented children. A House variation of the bill includes undocumented adults, but there is no indication the Senate will adopt this language.