Constitutional Amendment:
Making Affordable Health Care a Right

Issue

Should the state amend its Constitution to make affordable health care a right for all Minnesotans?

Policy

In 2014 all Americans will have access to health care coverage through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). While the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce recognizes that this law is controversial, it is the law that employers must abide by. Likewise, the state of Minnesota must plan accordingly to comply with the law. Regardless of PPACA, the Chamber opposes a constitutional amendment that would declare health care coverage a right for all Minnesotans. We do so for the following reasons:

• Amending the state’s Constitution will not address the underlying problems with the health care system. Real health care reform should improve the quality of care and control the underlying cost-drivers in the health care system.
  
  
• Previously proposed constitutional amendments have been silent on how the state would make affordable health care available to everyone, what it would cost, and who would pay for it. They were also silent on the definition of affordable health care. Minnesotans should be given this information prior to any vote.
  
  
• Minnesota statutes already acknowledge that “it is necessary to ensure basic and affordable health care to all Minnesotans” (62J.01).
  
  
• Minnesota should not become an island with unworkable laws that would be detrimental to the Minnesota economy.

Business Impact

Employers are still the major source of health care insurance for Minnesotans – more than 71 percent of Minnesotans in 2010 received their health care coverage through a plan offered by their employer. Escalating health care costs are making it more difficult for employers to continue to offer this benefit. Health care isn’t immune from the laws of economics. The Minnesota Chamber is dedicated to improving our state’s health care system, especially in terms of lowering health care costs, improving the quality of care, and making sure every Minnesotan has access to affordable coverage. However, politicians can’t wave a wand and provide equal, affordable coverage for all merely by declaring medical care to be a “right.” Simply passing a constitutional amendment will not make health care more affordable for businesses or improve the quality.

Minnesota’s problem is that underlying health care costs are rising significantly higher than inflation. Giving individuals a right to health care does nothing to address those underlying cost-drivers.