PRESS RELEASES
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
CCHC has advice for Governor on how to proceed
with "best practices" bill
(St. Paul, Minnesota) - On Saturday, May 16, the controversial "best
practices" proposal was added as a late-night, last-minute amendment
to the small DHS Licensing bill - HF 2277. Like most of the other 49
amendments added before it to the bill, the "best practices"
amendment had nothing to do with DHS licensing. The now 248-page bill
was passed by the House and the Senate and awaits the Governor's
decision.
"Governor Pawlenty is between a rock and a hard place. Rep. Bradley
and Senator Berglin negotiated behind closed doors to get 'best
practices' added at the last minute. The Governor must now either
veto the entire bill or sign it," said Twila Brase, president of the
Citizens' Council on Health Care (CCHC).
"Even if Governor Pawlenty wants to respond to the outpouring of
public opposition, he may find it difficult to do," she added.
Only 3 days before the bill passed, CCHC delivered evidence of the
public's opposition to the office of Governor Pawlenty, and
Minnesota's legislative leadership, in the form of bound petitions
stacked more than one foot high.
"The House green-lighted the proposal. The Senate ignored our
cautions. So now only the Governor can stop this government-directed
health care proposal. However, the limited veto power of the Governor
and adjournment of the legislature make it more difficult for
Governor Pawlenty to act on the people's concerns," said Brase.
"Government-directed health care is so onerous that we would have no
problem with the bill being vetoed, however we understand that the
Governor may not be willing to lose other policy items in the bill,"
said Brase.
MEETING REQUESTED
"Therefore, we are asking the Governor to meet with us before he
makes any decisions about signing the bill. We would like to discuss
with him how we believe it would be best for him to proceed given the
present situation," said Brase.
CCHC has faxed a formal meeting request to the Governor.
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CCHC is an independent non-profit free-market health care policy organization located in St. Paul, Minnesota.
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