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It shouldn’t matter where we live, our age, our gender or any other factor. Everyone should have access to good quality health care. It is a human right. I am grateful that I live in a state that has always taken the lead to ensure that this basic human need is met.

Minnesota legislators now have a true MinnesotaCare Public Option in front of them and we need them to pass it. It would enable farmers, small business owners, freelance workers, care workers and many others to buy in to Minnesota Care so that they can afford insurance for themselves, their families and workers. Too many have had to pay high rates for high deductible plans on the individual market, or they have gone without insurance entirely.

I know that our rural communities do best when our small businesses and farmers do best. These are our economic engines, so we should make sure that they are supported.

I am from a large family, and at one time seven of my brothers and sisters owned and operated small businesses in rural central Minnesota. I know they struggled to make sure that their employees had the benefits they needed. These were their friends and neighbors, after all.

So please contact your local legislators and ask them to support a MinnesotaCare Public Option that is run by the state of Minnesota, (and this is important) not by health insurance companies who are motivated by profit.

Mary Hinnenkamp
Albert Lea