RealAudio 2.0 14.4

MINNESOTA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE MARK DAYTON, like many politicians across the country, is calling for broader consumer protections for patients fed up with the limits imposed by health maintenance organizations.

Dayton: The state of Minnesota and Department of Health should be on the side of the consumers of Minnesota, the patients of Minnesota, and stand up on their behalf to these big providers and say, "We have these expectations, and you've got to meet them."

Dayton: Right now, if you are denied what you believe is proper care by your HMO or other health care provider, if you want to seek a remedy to that, or even change the decision denying care, you have to embark on a bureaucratic maze that makes even the federal government look efficient and timely.

Dayton: That's what's really indecent about what's happening. You hear from people all over who say, "I'm in a crisis. My kid's sick and in a crisis, and I'm told I can't get the doctor I want to see. I'm told by some faceless bureaucrat, 'No, you can't have it.'"

Dayton says he also wants to reduce the state's cost for MinnesotaCare - the state's insurance program - by requiring all Minnesota businesses to provide health care for every employee and his or her family. He says full time employees should get full coverage, and benefits for part-time employees should be pro-rated.

Dayton: Businesses might not like it, and there should be exemptions, and exceptions for those that cannot legitimately afford it because of size or lack of profitability. On the other hand, there are a lot of these big retail food chain operations which can absolutely afford to provide health insurance for their employees, and they don't, and as I said, we pick up the costs.