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In: HMO, Home, Insurance, Legislative Policy, Uncategorized

by Rose Roach

MNA Executive Director

As an organization representing 21,000 healthcare professionals, the vast majority of whom are registered nurses, MNA has long advocated for reforms that make healthcare more affordable and accessible to patients who need it because the safety and care of patients is our number one priority. As part of that advocacy we have been calling for regulations that hold Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) accountable for public tax dollars they receive to provide coverage for those who need it most.

Yet with billions going to the HMOs every year to administer public programs, the public has no information about how much of that money is actually providing care to patients who rely on MinnesotaCare and Medical Assistance, and how much is going into CEO salaries, reserves, marketing and lobbying.
… Read more about: Make HMOs Accountable for their Public Funds  »

On:
In: Health Care Reform, Home, Issues, Press Releases

Contact:  Buddy Robinson
(218) 727-0207
buddy@citizensfed.org

Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

Healthcare Advocates Call for HMO Accountability
HMOs and state contracts need to be audited as they stand to pocket $6 billion

ST. PAUL – May 4, 2017 – Healthcare advocates and nurses are calling for accountability of the state’s Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), including their state contracts assets worth billions of dollars. The Minnesota Legislature has deregulated HMOs to become for-profit entities, which would allow them to convert $6 billion in public assets to shareholders.

“There are significant indications of fraudulent overpayments – wasting both state and federal taxpayer funds,” said Buddy Robinson of the Greater Minnesota Health Care Coalition.
… Read more about: Media Advisory  »

On:
In: Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Home, Issues, Legislative Policy, Single Payer

By Charlotte Zabawa RN

Retired Nurse and MNA Member

I am Charlotte Zabawa, and I am a retired registered nurse and a member of the Minnesota Nurses Association and a member of the SCVWA Indivisible. For many years, I’ve devoted my volunteer time to moving us closer to a humane healthcare system that cares for everyone when they need it, not just when they can afford it. I spent most of my career as a post-partum nurse, and I can tell you how desperately we need to fix our broken healthcare system.
… Read more about: The Time for Humane Healthcare for All is Now  »

big pharma

On:
In: Education, Home, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United

By Megan Gavin

MNA Education Specialist

MNA is excited to invite members to a day of workshops with Dr. Alana Glaser, faculty from NNU & Rutgers University’s Women’s Global Health Leadership Program. Alana will speak on the topic of Big Pharma, Inequality, and the Future of American Healthcare. Alana’s research has connected US nursing practice to international concerns of inequality, public health, militarization, and the relationship among these phenomena. She has taught classes on the impact austerity measures, privatization, and the welfare state have on spreading infectious diseases and exacerbating health disparities. Her research interests include domestic and service sector work, migration, class, gender, race, aging, labor process, and political economy.
… Read more about: Save the date: National Nurses United Education Sessions June 20th  »

On:
In: Activism, Health Care Reform, Home, Insurance, Politics, Single Payer

By Barb Brady

MNA Communications Specialist

April 11 brought Minnesotans together for a Day of Action for Healthcare for All. A crowd gathered near Blue Cross/Blue Shield’s headquarters in Eagan to rally for a publicly funded healthcare system that covers everyone and costs less: Medicare for All.

Speakers from the Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, the Land Stewardship Project, and Physicians for a National Health Program energized dozens of attendees with a call for Medicare for All, which would ensure access to quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans.

The group then went to Blue Cross/Blue Shield headquarters with a letter asking for Blue Cross CEO Michael Guyette to publicly commit to lowering premiums and selling individual insurance products statewide.
… Read more about: Day of Action Calls for Healthcare for All  »

On:
In: Activism, Home, Nursing Education, Student Nurses

By Barb Brady

MNA Communications Specialist

More than 500 student nurses from schools throughout Minnesota learned the importance of advocating for patients at the bedside and in the public arena at MNA’s Student Day on the Hill on April 4.

“You need to get your voices out there for patients and the profession,” Essentia Health Duluth RN and MNA member Emily Kniskern told students and faculty, adding that legislators often are not familiar with nurses’ issues.

“Legislators need nurses’ and patients’ perspectives” so they can make decisions that ensure nurses can safely care for their patients, she said.
… Read more about: Nursing students learn key role: advocating for patients away from the bedside  »

On:
In: Activism, Bernie Sanders, Home, Legislative Policy, Minimum Wage, Nurses, Robin Hood Tax, Single Payer

By Katie Gjertson

MNA Political Coordinator

This June 9 – 11, several thousand progressive activists from across the country will gather in Chicago for the People’s Summit 2.0. It’s a multi-organizational, multi-racial, multi-issue conference, co-hosted by the National Nurses United. The event goals are to form a broad coalition committed to building a people’s movement united around social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.

MNA members are invited to attend, and those who haven’t been to an event like this before are the perfect candidate. These events feature high-powered speeches by progressive leaders that will leave participants fired up to get involved.
… Read more about: The People’s Summit 2.0  »

On:
In: Home, Insurance, Press Releases

An Insurance Industry Bailout Won’t Give Minnesotans Affordable Healthcare

For Immediate Release

Contact:  Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

Barbara Brady
(o) 651-414-2249
(c) 651-202-0845
barbara.brady@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – March 30, 2017 – Registered Nurses of the Minnesota Nurses Association are calling on Governor Mark Dayton to veto a state reinsurance bill when it reaches his desk.  Despite last-minute lobbying by nurses at the Capitol on Thursday, reinsurance bill passed both the House and Senate by a slim majority.

“This bill, while giving insurance companies a massive taxpayer-funded windfall, does not solve the problems facing Minnesotans who need affordable healthcare in the individual insurance market, including better access to coverage, lower insurance costs, and more adequate provider networks,” said Mary Turner, MNA president.
… Read more about: Press Release: Nurses Urge Governor to Veto Reinsurance Bill  »

On:
In: Fairview, HealthEast, Home, Hospitals, Nurses

By Mathew Keller RN JD

Regulatory and Policy Nursing Specialist

This past January, Pocono Medical Center (“PMC”) in Pennsylvania announced plans of a merger with Lehigh Valley Health Network. As details became more apparent, it was obvious that staffing changes and layoffs connected to the merger would affect more than 100 PMC nurses.

It’s no surprise that the word “merger” has come to be associated with “restructuring,” and “restructuring” with “layoffs.” And if a merger between a single medical center and a larger health system can affect 100 nurses, how much larger of an impact could a merger of two giant systems, such as HealthEast and Fairview, have?
… Read more about: Will HealthEast-Fairview Merger Hurt Nurses?  »

On:
In: Activism, Home, Politics

By Geri Katz

MNA Healthcare Reform Specialist

Among the group for today’s North Memorial Day on the Hill were two first-time attendees. Erica and Ayan had never been to the Capitol before, which allowed me to do my favorite part of my job: introduce nurses to their elected officials and start them on their journey as citizen lobbyists.

At this point in the legislative session, everything is moving quickly. Legislators are rushing to meet deadlines, and it can be hard to catch them. We were lucky to find both Erica and Ayan’s state representatives today (in addition to several others) and share with them what it’s like to be a bedside nurse at a Level I Trauma Center.
… Read more about: Nurses Visit the Capitol for the First Time  »