MPR news and documentary programming highlighting medical and political commentary on the changing landscape of American health care. Minnesota is not only home to Mayo Clinic, UCare, and Hazelden, it has been at the forefront of the health discussion, from the state’s historic tobacco settlement case to the idea of prepaid health plans (later known as HMOs).
Please note: Most content related to this topic that is contemporary or created after 2005 can be found on our main content pages of MPR News, YourClassical MPR, The Current, APM Reports, and Marketplace.
September 13, 1995 - Lynn Blewett, director of Health & Economics at Minnesota Health department, explains provision in Medicare plan being formulated in Congress that would create tax exempt saving accounts, partially funded by government.
December 12, 1995 - Lynda Boudreau, state representative for 25B District and co-chair of a Republican task force on health care, shares details on recommendation that state programs should be redesigned in able to cut spending.
February 6, 1996 - Jean Bay, a health services manager at Honeywell, provides details on Life Savers Health Incentive Program, in which company offers monetary prizes to employees that succeed in improving one’s health by utilizing the program.
April 24, 1996 - Midday broadcasts a speech by Dr. Susan Love, author of Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book and director of the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center, delivered in the Twin Cities at a conference on breast cancer sponsored by the University of Minnesota Center for Biomedical Ethics.
August 21, 1996 - Midday examines The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). As President Clinton prepares to sign it, guests Jim Koppell, member of the Children's Defense Fund and a vice president at the MN Hospital and Health Care Partnership; and former U.S. Senator Dave Durenberger, discuss its impact on the public. Koppell and Durenberger also answer listener questions.
October 18, 1996 - MPR’s Lorna Benson profiles Pua Xiong, a first-year resident who works at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul. Xiong describes how her quest for a medical degree has forced her to confront a multitude of cultural barriers.
December 2, 1996 - Healthcare's newest trend is decidedly low tech and low cost. In the past five years, over 300 Minnesotans have been trained as parish nurses...health care professionals working within the church to promote physical and spiritual wellness. Mainstreet Radio’s Rachel Reabe visits Crosslake Lutheran Church in northern Minnesota and looks into the nurse movement.
December 31, 1996 - John Kingrey, senior vice president of Minnesota Hospital and Health Care Partnership, comments on the finalization of Fairview/University of Minnesota merger.
January 13, 1997 - Governor Carlson's allies today floated the idea of increasing the state's cigarette tax to pay for a new Twins Stadium. Senate Republican leader Dean Johnson says the Governor is interested in adding ten cents to the price of a pack of cigarettes... But as Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports, the idea isn't going over very well at the Capitol: The cigarette tax for the Twins is the very definition of a political trial balloon. Nobody has actually to endorsed the idea, but the Governor's staff says Carlson does find the idea "intriguing," Senate Republican leader Dean Johnson was the one who brought the subject up. He says the Legislature should consider the idea -- although he stopped short of actually proposing it.
January 13, 1997 - A Voices of Minnesota interview with Tom Webber, Director of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota and South Dakota. Webber discusses his work on women's reproductive health issues. Also, a recorded interview with Margaret Atwood, author of "Alias Grace".