Senator Gary Dahms, chair of the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, and Senator Michelle Benson, chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, released the following statements regarding the announcement by the Minnesota Department of Commerce of proposed 2019 rates for individual and small group health care plans.

Senator Gary Dahms said:

“Part of the mandate the people of Minnesota placed on us when electing our Republican majority was to stabilize and reduce the costs of the individual health insurance market. Through thoughtful reforms and innovative approaches like reinsurance, we have delivered on that mandate. However, rather than rest on the success we’ve already achieved, we are committed to continuing to do the hard work of developing additional market-driven innovations to bring down health care costs even further.”

 

Senator Michelle Benson said:

“When Republicans took full control of the legislature in 2017, Minnesota’s health insurance market was on the brink of collapse thanks to years of double digit rate increases. We listened to the concerns of Minnesota families, stabilized the individual market, and began to reverse the damage caused by the Dayton administration’s full implementation of Obamacare in Minnesota.

There’s no debating it: Republican-led reforms are working, and Minnesotans will have better choices this year than last. Our health insurance market is finally on the right path, but there is more work to do. Republicans in the legislature will continue to strengthen the market and make health care more affordable for Minnesota families.”