Governor’s Health Cabinet
The Governor's Health Cabinet has moved swiftly and collaboratively to create mechanisms to inform, partner, streamline, and create efficiency in the health care industry. The Cabinet, along with the “Smart Buy” Alliance, and efforts by many providers, professionals, insurers, and administrators have changed the delivery of health care. Basic principles were adhered to, actions taken, and quantifiable results have began to take root. For example:
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Health care purchasing has improved.
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Greater transparency of health care quality and costs has been created.
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Legislative and administrative actions to streamline and improve health care regulation are underway.
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Options to improve access to health care for low-income and uninsured Minnesotans are being developed and marketed.
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Market choices to reform health care system are working.
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Governor Pawlenty and the Health Cabinet are more involved with the health care industry and the general public.
Health Cabinet Workgroups
The Health Cabinet has organized into four main workgroups, and each workgroup is utilizing state staff and expertise, consulting outside experts, and meeting with groups to make recommendations to the Governor and to take action. Goals for each workgroup include:
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Health Care Website: Development of an easy to find, easy to use website to provide ordinary citizens, as well as employers, health care providers, and others, with information about health care quality and costs in Minnesota.
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Health Care Regulation: Streamlining state health care rules and regulations. The workgroup will be exploring what is regulated, by whom, and how. It will be seeking especially to identify gaps or duplications in regulation, and whether the regulation really seems to be useful and serving the intended purpose.
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State Health Care Purchasing: Improved state health care purchasing strategies. The State purchases health care for state employees, enrollees of programs such as Medicaid and MinnesotaCare, for prisoners in state correctional facilities, and others, at annual state costs of over $3 billion. The goal of this effort will be to help ensure the State obtains the most value for what it spends, and that it is as smart about buying health care as it can be.
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Budget and Policy: Budget and policy initiatives to support any changes needed.
Contacting the Health Cabinet
Governor’s Health Cabinet
658 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55155
651-259-3637
