At a time when more and more people are losing their jobs and are unable to pay for health care, Governor Pawlenty is proposing to drastically cut the Health and Human Services budget, forcing thousands of Minnesotans off of Minnesota Care.

Yesterday, Governor Pawlenty proposed cutting General Assistance Medical Care (GMAC), too, under the assumption that people who lose their GMAC coverage would switch over to Minnesota Care.  This won’t necessarily be the case, as the Minnesota Budget Project explains:

It is important to note that many argue GAMC recipients will not successfully transition to MinnesotaCare because the programs are structured differently. MinnesotaCare is designed to serve working families with a fairly stable life, whereas GAMC serves a population often struggling with mental illness and/or chemical dependency that usually enter the health care system as a result of a health care crisis. The Governor has said he is willing to renegotiate his move to eliminate GAMC, but it would require reopening the health and human services bill that he signed on Thursday.

Watch the video of regular Minnesotans speaking out against the Governor’s cuts to health care below: