Here are three changes in the Minnesota insurance market, as stated in a report published through a partnership between Minnesota Public Radio, NPR and Kaiser Health News.
1. Minnesota approved a one-time bailout for some consumers in the individual insurance market dealing with rising premiums. The $326 million law affects people who make too much to qualify for the ACA’s federal tax credit, according to the report. Under the law, 2017 premiums will decrease by 25 percent for about 125,000 Minnesotans, the report states.
2. Minnesota has also rejected an attempt to allow insurers to offer less expensive, bare-bones coverage, according to the report. If passed, the legislation would have stripped dozens of so-called “essential benefits” from health plans with the expectation that slimmed-down coverage would be less expensive, according to the report.
3. Additionally, Minnesota has paved the way for a sort of homegrown “public option” insurance plan, according to the report. Minnesota provides a so-called basic health plan that can cover lower and moderate income residents. Democratic Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton wants to open the plan to all state residents, with higher income residents paying full price for their coverage, according to the report.
For more on this story, read Mark Zdechlik’s full report here.
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