Here’s some good news!
According to a detailed study by members of the University of Minnesota faculty, our state has over 180,000 more people with healthcare insurance than this time last year.
This means that 95% of all Minnesotans have insurance.
How did this happen? Because Governor Mark Dayton supported the Affordable Healthcare Act, or what the President now welcomes people calling “Obamacare.”
Thankfully Governor Dayton was not alone. What has happened in Minnesota has happened across the country in states whose governors chose people over politics. Literally millions of Americans have health insurance they did not have a year ago.
These governoirs did so in spite of predictions that Obamacare was going to destroy the economy and in the process ruin the country. The opposite is happening. The sky is not falling. Healthcare costs are going down, the economy is growing, the federal deficit is declining, small businesses are not going out of business, and there are no death panels determining who lives and who dies.
So what was all the fuss about? Politics, of course. Nothing else. Had critics genuinely wanted healthcare justice they would have tried to make Obamacare better instead of trying to kill it.
Are there flaws with Obamacare? Yes. Will changes be needed? Absolutely. Could it have been better? Without question.
But it was and is a good start toward the noble goal of universal healthcare when our country will join other western nations in implementing the moral fact that healthcare is a human right, not a privilege.
What a great day for compassion and justice that day will be.
But for now I am simply glad the news from Lake Wobegon really is good.
It helps me to believe our nation can still achieve great things when we reject mean and spiteful politics and embrace doing the right thing for the most people.
(Note: Joy and I will be travelling for the next three weeks. My next Blog will be in mid-July.)
linnposts.com 
In an era of obstructionist politics, the Affordable Care Act stands as a shining example of what can be done when the well-being of all Americans is what drives legislation. Jan, remember to have your shorts at a modest length when traveling in Muslim countries. 🙂
Thanks for the reminder, Steve.
We will miss your blogs, but happy traveling!
Ditto to Steve’s comment. We are all fortunate to have gotten this program passed as a stepping stone to universal health care. Also, when the CEO of Goldman Sachs publicly criticizes wealth inequality as a destabilizing factor for the country there is hope for more future progressive legislation.
Have a safe and joyous trip!
Thanks, Bob. See you and Monica in August!
I sure hope that John Boehner doesn’t read this, because if he does, he will start shedding tears because of failure to destroy something good from the Obama administration.