Gov. Walz looking to lower healthcare costs

(ABC 6 News) – Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan hosted a roundtable with farmers, seniors, legislators, and health care experts to discuss ways to lower health care costs for Minnesotans.

The group spoke about how some Minnesotans may be afraid to seek help, due to the costs of healthcare and insurance.

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan says putting off care is unacceptable. They also say that more needs to be done with prescription drug coverage as prices of prescriptions continue to soar.

"We’ve made some progress around health care as I said the Affordable Care act and some other things. But we know there’s more to be done, and we kind of put a Band-Aid on the situation if you will over the last several years, and it’s time to think about especially where we are financially in the state to make these long term changes," Walz said.

The Governor made clear that permanently lowering health care costs, including exploring a public option program, will be a priority of his administration for the upcoming legislative session.