Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-MN-05) newly released divorce files show that he dropped his ex-wife from his health insurance coverage against court orders.
Before resigning from Congress to run for Minnesota attorney general, Ellison was a loyal advocate for single-payer health care plans, and was even the lead House sponsor of a “Medicare for All” bill backed in the Senate by Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT).
“American needs universal, single-payer health care,” Ellison said on the House floor. “Health care is a human right, and Medicare for All is an idea whose time has come.”
I just received unanimous consent from my colleagues to assume leadership of former Rep. John Conyers' historic single-payer health care bill. Health care is a human right, and Medicare for All is an idea whose time has come. pic.twitter.com/kcmbvZRtud
— Keith Ellison (@keithellison) March 7, 2018
Ellison is promoting similar proposals on the campaign trail, saying that as attorney general he would “defend the Affordable Care Act and hold pharmaceutical and health insurance companies accountable to make health care more affordable for Minnesota families.”
Now, records from his 2012 divorce show that Ellison seemingly violated court orders by dropping his ex-wife from his coverage.
“In the divorce decree, it is stated that Keith Ellison will continue to provide health insurance for Kim Ellison so the cost of health insurance was not included in Kim’s budget,” the divorce records unsealed Wednesday state. “A year later, the insurance company dropped Kim from coverage, leaving Kim with no health insurance and no way to pay for it.”
https://twitter.com/nathanmhansen/status/1052551315019194369
Both Ellison and his ex-wife opposed the release of their divorce files, but a last-minute petition to block their release was ruled down Tuesday.
“I’m ashamed that a judge thinks it’s OK to exploit somebody’s mental illness,” said Kim Ellison, who struggled with depression and multiple sclerosis during the time of the divorce.
In a statement provided to The Star Tribune Wednesday, Ellison called the efforts to unseal the divorce files “shameful,” attributing the “difficulties” in his marriage “to the disease and [his] failure to understand it.”
“I was not nearly sensitive enough to the symptoms of her medical condition at the time, and for that I am deeply sorry. Kim and I have rebuilt a strong friendship as parents to our four wonderful children,” Ellison continued.
The divorce records were released after both The Star Tribune and Alpha News sued to make them public, a move the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party condemned as “unforgivable” in a Wednesday statement.
“The Ellison family has been subjected to unforgivable violations of privacy fueled by the most extreme elements of the right wing. To exploit the worst, most painful time in a family’s life in pursuit of political gain is unconscionable,” DFL Senior Adviser Charlene Briner said.
The Star Tribune and Alpha News sought the release of the divorce proceeding as a matter of “public interest” after Ellison was accused of domestic-abuse by ex-girlfriend Karen Monahan. The records, however, do not reveal any new abuse allegations against Ellison, but do show that Ellison reported to a therapist that he was abused by his ex-wife.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
