MPR is running an interesting investigative piece about two state legislators whose business dealings and legislative agendas intersect to a point where colleagues are questioning their ethics. Last year, as part of the deal to end the state government shutdown, the Republican-led legislature passed a law that would require some people enrolled in state-subsidized MinnesotaCare health insurance to purchase private insurance with the help of a state voucher. Individuals purchase coverage with the help of an insurance broker. After the law passed, Representative Steve Gottwalt and Senator David Hann, both sponsors of the legislation, became licensed insurance brokers. Gottwalt is now associated with a firm that lobbied for the Healthy Minnesota voucher program. Both legislators claim they do not serve anyone in the program.
It’s doubtful that either man has done anything unethical. They are free to pursue a living and it doesn’t appear that they have personally profited from the program. Still, their career choices seem a little tone-deaf to public perception. Gottwalt in particular might have given more thought to joining a firm that had testified before his committee just last year.
Meanwhile, the Healthy Minnesota program that both men championed isn’t proving too popular. It might have something to do with the fact that coverage is both costlier and less comprehensive than what was available under MinnesotaCare.
