April 18, 2006 - MPR’s Tom Crann and Dr. Jon Hallberg share annual dose of the poetry of physicians and patients.
May 29, 2006 - MPR's Brandt Williams reports on Girls in Action, a new mentoring program at North High School in Minneapolis. Administrators say they've seen improvements in the grades and attendance in the young women. They also say fights and other behavior problems among girls at the school in general have decreased.
June 16, 2006 - Currently, a person needs either a passport or a birth certificate to apply for medicaid. Starting July 1, people applying for medicaid will need to prove their citizenship before even applying. Opponents of the bill argue that eligible, low-income patients will have trouble accessing these documents.
July 28, 2006 - What would it cost to cover Minnesota's approximately 383-thousand uninsured people? On the low end, about $663 million dollars a year, state officials say. On the high end, the bill could jump to more than $850 million. The estimates come from a new background paper issued by the Minnesota Department of Health. The Governor's Healthcare Cabinet requested the numbers as it considers ways to develop healthcare coverage in the state. Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson reports.
August 22, 2006 - President Bush promoted a new healthcare "transparency" initiative at an event in Minnetonka this afternoon (Tuesday). The White House billed the event as a healthcare summit. The president used the forum to promote liability reform, new electronic medical record keeping, and the pooling of small business health insurance. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.
August 22, 2006 - After his address on health care, the President headed to a private reception in Wayzata, to raise money for Michele Bachmann's campaign. Bachman is the Republican candidate for Minnesota's 6th district congressional seat. She faces DFL-er Patty Wetterling and Independence Party candidate John Binkowski in the race for the seat. It's being vacated by Mark Kennedy, who's running for US Senate. To talk about the politics of the President's visit we've called on a political scientist from within the 6th district. Kay Wolsborn, joins me from the College of Saint Benedict in St Joseph.
September 1, 2006 - MPR’s Tom Scheck presents a summary report of U.S. Senate debate at Minnesota State Fair. The three major party endorsed candidates running for Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat held a heated debate on health care, the war in Iraq and tax policy.
September 20, 2006 - MPR's Tom Scheck reports on debate of top candidates in U.S. Senate race. The hour-long forum was hosted by AARP, WCCO Radio and Twin Cities Public Television. Republican Mark Kennedy and DFLer Amy Klobuchar spent a large part of the time disagreeing on their positions and dispelling each other’s attacks, while Independence Party Member Robert Fitzgerald stated he was the alternative to the two other candidates.
September 22, 2006 - The three candidates for congress in Minnesota's 6th district are offering distinctly different views on health care, taxes and the war in Iraq. Republican Michele Bachmann, Democrat Patty Wetterling and John Binkowski of the Independence Party covered a wide range of issues last night during a debate held in Woodbury. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.
October 6, 2006 - Health care is emerging as one of the big issues in this year's campaign for U.S. Senate. Democrat Amy Klobuchar, Republican Mark Kennedy and Independence Party candidate Robert Fitzgerald have all proposed ways to provide more health insurance coverage by controlling the cost of health care. As part of our look at the issues in this year's campaign, MPR's Tom Scheck looks at what the candidates are saying about health care and whether their promises add up.