Letter: Hamilton had wrong priority on health care vote

Talk about it

I was pleased to read that Minnesota recently began implementing changes that will allow 16,000 more uninsured Minnesota children to access health care.

The changes remove artificial insurance barriers that keep kids from seeing a doctor when they’re sick or for preventative care that keeps them healthy. This is real progress for Minnesota, and it helps kids in working families get the care they need. It also helps reduces the cost of health care for all of us because it cuts down on expensive ER trips for kids without insurance, which we all end up paying for.

Surely, kids health care should be something we can all agree on. In fact, Rep. Jim Abeler, a Republican, called the initiative “sensible bipartisan change” (July 27 Star Tribune). So why did Rep. Rod Hamilton vote to repeal common-sense reforms? That’s right, Rep. Hamilton voted to repeal this “sensible” law that will allow 16,000 previously uninsured kids to receive care. Why doesn’t he want kids in working families to have health care?

Rep. Rod Hamilton has the wrong priorities. It’s time to vote for a change. In November, I’ll be voting for candidate Cheryl Avenel-Navara, someone who will support Minnesota kids and working families,

Tags: opinion, letters, minnesota, politics, legislature, hamilton, avenel-navara