The House Health Policy and Finance Committee has approved an omnibus budget bill that cuts 30,000 people off of state health programs. (04/21/2005)

Supporters of a health care spending bill are praising the bill's author for keeping health care costs low while increasing funds for the disabled and the elderly. But critics described the bill as shortsighted. (04/20/2005)

About 30,000 adults would lose health insurance coverage under a spending bill unveiled Tuesday by House Republicans, who made deeper cuts to public insurance programs than Gov. Tim Pawlenty proposed. (04/19/2005)

The Minnesota Senate has voted to lift a cap on state-subsdized health care benefits for some low-income Minnesotans. Currently, MinnesotaCare health coverage is limited to $5,000 for adults who have no children. Opponents of the bill say the state needs to trim health care costs, rather than expanding benefits. (03/31/2005)

New smoking bans for bars and restaurants take effect in Bloomington, Minneapolis and Golden Valley, as well as Hennepin and Ramsey Counties Thursday. They join Olmstead County and Duluth. What impact will the bans have on smokers, wait staff, the hospitality industry and public health? Is a statewide ban next? ( 03/29/2005)

Republicans in the state Senate want Minnesota to join five other states in offering a way to buy prescription drugs from other countries over the Internet. Senate Minority Leader Dick Day announced a proposal to join the I-SaveRx Web site. MPR's Steven John talked with Day. (03/10/2005)

The lawmakers who created MinnesotaCare in the early 1990s say Gov. Pawlenty's proposal to cut back the program to help balance the budget is the wrong idea. They say it's the only health insurance option that the working poor can afford, and cutting it will increase overall health care costs. (03/10/2005)

A Minnesota House committee dealt a serious - and potentially final - blow to a proposed ban on smoking in restaurants around the state when the measure failed on a voice vote Wednesday. (03/02/2005)

The number of people who are living in Minnesota without health insurance is on the rise for the first time in 15 years. A study by the Minnesota Health Department and the University of Minnesota says there are 77,000 more people without health insurance than in 2001. (02/25/2005)

The House Health Policy and Finance Committee signed off Tuesday on legislation that would hike cigarette taxes 99 cents a pack and cut three health care taxes for small businesses. (02/22/2005)

A proposed indoor smoking ban for Minnesota bars and restaurants has cleared another legislative hurdle. The Senate Commerce Committee approved the measure Monday on a 9-7 vote. (02/21/2005)

The Minnesota Department of Human Services is out with a new report suggesting Minnesotans start saving during their working years to pay for their own long-term care. How will the state get Baby Boomers to start planning for their golden years? ( 02/17/2005)

Gov. Pawlenty Wednesday encouraged Congress to permit expansion of a state program that allows Minnesota citizens and state employees to import drugs from Canadian mail order pharmacies at a discount. Testifying before a Senate subcommittee in Washington, Pawlenty said Minnesota's program has been safe and successful. (02/16/2005)

There are over 45 million Americans without health insurance and nearly 500,000 of them live in Minnesota. There are proposals on the table at the state and federal level to cut funding for government-subsidized health insurance for the poor. With medical costs spiraling ever higher, is there a way to expand access to health care? ( 02/10/2005)

As part of his plan to balance the state budget, Gov. Tim Pawlenty is advocating limiting eligibility for MinnesotaCare, a state program that provides subsidized health insurance to low-income working people. The Governor says that what he calls "welfare health care" is growing out of control and needs to be reigned in. Critics counter that those who lose their health insurance will eventually end up in emergency rooms and cost the state more in the long run. ( 02/01/2005)