On behalf of its more than 3,100 members (comprised of family physicians, family medicine resident physicians and medical students from across Minnesota), the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) would like to thank Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan for outlining a budget that prioritizes the health of all Minnesotans.
Support for Primary Care
Primary care services (which span preventive health care, mental health care, treatment for common illnesses and chronic disease management) are critical to ensuring Minnesotans’ health and controlling health care costs. All Minnesotans should have access to primary care services and that access should not be based on their employment status.
As family physicians, we are a bedrock of the primary care infrastructure in this state. We provide comprehensive primary care across the lifespan, serving as the entry point for most of a patient’s health care needs and helping coordinate care with other specialists. Our main focus is on our patients, their families and communities, and how we can best keep them healthy and thriving.
Governor Walz’s budget proposal has incorporated several important steps prioritizing primary care and the health of Minnesotans:
- Explore how free primary care could be offered to all Minnesotans.
- Assess the readiness of Minnesota’s rural communities to be able to participate in value-based payment programs. At the MAFP, we hear every day how the current fee-for-service system does not work. A value-based system—one that focuses on keeping patients healthy and ensuring chronic conditions are well managed—is crucial to health care reform, and the MAFP applauds this administration for acknowledging that and taking these important steps. See our proposed legislation on investing in primary care and understanding health care spending in Minnesota.
- Establish MinnesotaCare Buy-in to allow a “public option” on MNSure—another important action toward ensuring all Minnesotans have access to health care.
- Implement continuous Medical Assistance coverage for children and young adults under the age of 21 as well as invest in early childhood education and paid parental leave. Our kids and families deserve greater investment and support.
- Ensure every Minnesotan has a safe, affordable place to live. This one action could go further to ensure the health of Minnesotans than anything that happens inside the walls of our clinics and hospitals.
See a summary of Governor Walz’s budget recommendations.
Take Action
Contact your legislators and let them know that Minnesota MUST invest in our communities to make sure everyone has a safe, healthy place to live, work, learn and play. Tell them which action items you support in Governor Walz’s budget recommendations.
Questions/looking for additional ways to get plugged into legislative advocacy? Reach out to Jami Burbidge, MAM, chief operating officer of the MAFP.
About the MAFP
The Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) is a state chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the largest medical specialty organization in Minnesota, representing more than 3,100 family physicians, family medicine residents and medical students.
We promote the specialty of family medicine in Minnesota and support family physicians as they provide high quality, comprehensive and continuous medical care for patients of ALL ages. mafp.org
