Minnesota Health Care Programs

Minnesota has one of the highest rates of insurance coverage for its residents in the country. The state accomplishes this by offering a full range of public health care programs. Nearly every resident is covered either by a private or employer-based program or by one of these public options. This has allowed the state to keep costs incurred by under-insured individuals down.

Features

• Statistics from the Star Tribune, the Minneapolis metropolitan newspaper, state that 92 percent of Minnesotans are covered by medical insurance. This includes over half a million who receive services through a public health care program.

Size

• While the vast majority of Minnesotans have private or employer-based insurance, public programs are well-funded. The Department of Human Services spends 73 percent of its budget on health care programs.

Medical Assistance

• Minnesota has taken the federal matching funds for Medicaid and instituted a program called Medical Assistance. 507,000 residents are covered for hospital stays, doctor visits, and prescription drugs. Members include low-income seniors, families with children, and disabled people.

Public Insurance

• Minnesota offers a public health insurance plan for those residents whose employer does not provide coverage with a 50 percent match. Called MinnesotaCare, it is funded through premiums, additional Medicaid funds, and heath care industry taxes.

General Assistance

• For low-income adults with no dependents, Minnesota also offers a program called General Assistance Medical Care. As of 2007, 33,000 people were enrolled in this program which is provided through the state's general budget.