State senator wants health insurers out of state-funded care for poor, disabled

Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, says he wants to cut health insurers out of state-funded care for the poor and disabled. Instead, he would have the state contract directly with doctors and hospitals.

Marty, a former gubernatorial contender, cited a $30 million contribution to the state by the U-Care health insurance program. He said it is a sign that something's wrong with the way the state pays health insurers.

"They all have that kind of money they should be returning to the state, and I'm glad the governor is going after getting that back," Marty said. "But it begs the question, why do we sign such lousy contracts that give these people more money than they know what to do with. I mean, it's a poor way of doing it and its time to cut out the middleman and deliver care more efficiently."

Health insurers like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medica and Health Partners have said they make only a small amount of money from publicly-funded health care. They've said before they were looking at their own finances in light of the U-Care refund to the state.