What’s one way to get the attention of a Republican governor in a state with a Democratic-controlled legislature who wishes to use his executive powers to cut the state’s largest healthcare safety net in 2010? Put a face on those cuts by sending weekly “updates” to the governor which describe how the money is being spent. To wit:

… [T]he letter highlighted a 23-year-old auto mechanic with no health insurance. After he came into the emergency room with a headache, doctors diagnosed a brain tumor, which despite two surgeries, left him blind in the right eye. He can no longer work as a mechanic, but he doesn’t qualify for state medical programs because he is not completely blind and is not considered disabled. His bill so far: $150,000.

Regions Hospital, located in Saint Paul, MN, is the state’s second largest provider of acute care services to patients who qualify for Minnesota’s Gen. Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program, and it is making sure Governor Pawlenty gets an eyeful of data. | LINK

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