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Minnesota Farmers Union prioritizes healthcare during convention

Healthcare access and affordability remain priorities for Minnesota Farmers Union.

President Gary Wertish says costs are unsustainable.

“Really hits rural America the hardest because as you get farther away from the urban centers there’s a larger community that’s harder to have a good hospital system and it’s harder to have an emergency ambulance service. And the more rural you are, the more you’re at risk for that stuff.”

He tells Brownfield expansion of the MinnesotaCare health insurance program is a step in the right direction.

“That’s what we have to keep doing is just keep figuring this out. Along with that too, we need to ask for increasing the Medicare rates, which also hits the rural hospitals hard. So as you see some of the hospitals struggling financially, a lot of that is because their Medicare reimbursement rates aren’t high enough either.”

Minnesota Farmers Union passed five special orders of business during its annual convention this fall that include ensuring affordable and accessible care in rural Minnesota, curbing monopoly power and protecting competition, investing in climate resilience, addressing the shortage of veterinarians, and passing a comprehensive farm bill.