(St. Paul, MN) In a stunning and disastrous development for Gov. Dayton’s signature legislative program, PreferredOne announced today they are no longer offering health insurance plans through MNsure. In a stinging indictment of MNsure, PreferredOne officials called the program “not administratively and financially sustainable going forward.”

“Today’s decision validates what Republicans have said all along about MNsure: it’s not financially sustainable,” said Senator David Hann, Senate Republican Leader. “This is the direct result of Gov. Mark Dayton forcing Minnesota into a national health insurance model that will not work.  We need a governor who will step forward and take action to allow Minnesota citizens to make their own decisions about healthcare. We need to reject Washington politicians dictating policy and a governor who is ‘all in’ for this debacle. Unfortunately, I expect we’ll see Gov. Dayton blame others and distance himself once again.”

“Minnesotans are now faced with fewer healthcare choices, some will lose their plans for a second time, and families will be hurt,” added Senator Michelle Benson. “If Governor Dayton had listened to experts and given them a seat at the table during the MNsure rollout, these problems could have been avoided. Instead, he gave preference to special interests, gave bonuses to MNsure officials who didn’t deserve them, and left families with lost coverage and more hassles.”

Senator Hann also warned that today’s announcement should have no impact on Gov. Dayton’s promise to release the 2015 rates for MNsure in October, before the election. “Now more than ever, consumers need to know what the MNsure marketplace will look like before they begin the open enrollment process in November.”