Officials from Minnesota's hospital, nurse and physicians' associations are urging state lawmakers and Governor Tim Pawlenty to cover the state's low-income residents with the state-federal Medicaid plan rather than a revamped General Assistance Medical Care plan negotiated in April, according to a report in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune.
The medical groups said in a letter that the revised version of the GAMC would not be able to provided "adequate, sustainable healthcare" to patients, according to the report. The new GAMC is scheduled to begin June 1, but only four of 17 Minnesota hospitals have agreed to the new plan.
The revamped plan follows Gov. Pawlenty's original plan to shut down the program, according to the report. After eliminating funding last year and vetoing its continuation in March, he struck a deal with Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor party which requires hospitals to treat GAMC patients for a fixed amount of money — less than half of the $400 million seen in the 2009 budget.
Read the Star Tribune's report about the Minnesota GAMC program.