Minnesota pushes ahead with health care overhaul

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton’s big bet on the federal health care overhaul was validated on Thursday, when the Supreme Court upheld the law.

The ruling has no practical effect on Dayton’s early expansion of the Medicaid program for 84,000 poor adults or his push to develop an online health insurance marketplace. It doesn’t disrupt planning for a bigger Medicaid expansion under the law in 2014.

Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson says the ruling brings clarity to the state’s efforts to put the federal health care overhaul in place.

But in Washington, Republican Rep. John Kline of Minnesota warns that Minnesota is premature to move ahead, as Republicans make repealing the overhaul a centerpiece of their election campaigns. Kline says smaller changes should replace the health care law.