It's not exactly the Tuskegee Experiment, but revelations that the Minnesota Health Department sat on news about the fate of iron miners makes you wonder about the wisdom of placing too much faith in government, especially on matters related to health.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune (June 16) has the story:

"The Minnesota Health Department suppressed research about additional deadly cancers among Iron Range miners for a year, even though a top government scientist warned that the findings raised significant new health issues."

The state had been collecting information about the health of 4,000 miners in the state's iron range. Officials had already known that 17 miners had died from mesothelioma, a cancer. In March of 2006, they concluded that another 35 miners had died--but did not release the information for another 12 months.

Health Department documents obtained by the Star Tribune show that officials had planned last year to disclose the information to mining unions, businesses, federal regulators and others. But state Health Commissioner Dianne Mandernach rejected those plans last fall.

Documents also show that the department feared that public disclosure of the findings would create controversy.

Controversy? I'd say.

And this is the institution into which some people would like to force everyone for health care?