Two groups supporting single-payer health insurance note that the plan has passed one Senate committee and will be heard Tuesday by the Senate Commerce Committee at 12:30 p.m. in Room 112 of the Capitol.

Earlier, the Minnesota Health Act passed the Senate Health, Housing, and Family Security Committee.

This momentum was praised by the Minnesota Universal Health Care Coalition and the Greater Minnesota Health Care Coalition, but is just a step in what promises to be a long, long battle in changing the existing and well-entrenched health care system.

The groups say that Gov. Pawlenty’s proposed budget cuts 113,000 individuals from health care coverage shows a new plan is needed.

“Every year we witness this revolving door of adding people, and cutting people, from our publicly funded health programs,” says Susan Hasti, M.D. Chair of the Minnesota Universal Health Care Coalition.  “Clearly our current system is not working.  Now, more than ever, we need fundamental reform so that our health care system functions in a coordinated, efficient manner and we control the escalating costs. With the economic crisis and mounting job losses we need to be expanding coverage not cutting it. The Minnesota Health Act offers a way to do this.”