The Minnesota Department of Commerce released final rates for the state’s 2018 individual health insurance market, revealing that recent legislative reforms will result in premium savings of 20% on average.  Due to the Senator Torrey Westrom supported reinsurance program, Minnesotans will not only experience lower rates on the individual market, but will also be able to purchase plans in every county statewide, with no enrollment caps. This stands in stark contrast to last year when customers faced rate increases of 50-67%, with some individuals finding no options at all in their respective counties. 

 

“Under Obamacare and MNsure, the last few years have seen rising health insurance premiums with no end in sight,” said Sen. Westrom. “However, due to the Senate’s passage of reinsurance, that downward spiral has stopped. We delivered on our promise to stabilize the health insurance market, but we are not finished. This is only the first step in a series of much needed reforms in order to continue to stabilize and lower health insurance costs and increase Minnesotan’s access to quality healthcare services.”

 

Recently, the legislature’s reinsurance plan received a waiver from the federal government in order to modify the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Currently, Minnesota is one of only two states implementing reinsurance. Without reform, the Minnesota Department of Commerce had predicted that premium rates would have continued to grow, increasing by as much as 30 percent over the coming year, as opposed to the lower rates that were just released on October 1, 2017.