Friends and neighbors,

Some good news on premium rates.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce released final rates for the 2020 individual insurance market. To see their press release, click here.

For the third consecutive year, Republican-led reforms have reduced or maintained individual market health insurance rates allowing Minnesota families to find affordable health insurance coverage without making the difficult choice of cutting basic living expenses.

All five of the carriers on the individual market are lowering premiums or effectively holding premiums flat for 2020. Rates range between a nearly 2% increase and a 20% decrease.

For example, Minnesotans on the “benchmark” plan in Sherburne County, the second-lowest priced silver plan available for a 40-year old through MNsure, will have a cost of $274.74 per month, which is $25.27 less than 2019. Total savings for this plan will be $303.24 for the year. This is good news for all Minnesotans who purchase their health insurance on the individual market and not through an employer or the government.

In addition to another year of rate decreases, with insurer Blue Plus joining Medica in offering plans statewide, every county in Minnesota will have at least two insurers offering individual coverage.

MNsure has also announced there will be 39 more plans available from last year for a total of 122 different plans, providing Minnesotans more options to choose from.

Minnesota continues to lead the way with world-class health care and more affordable, accessible health coverage. I will continue to work to continuously improve premium rates and continue lowering the cost of prescription drugs.

There are those who thought this lowering could not happen. It is encouraging to see that our work on policies do matter for many Minnesotans.

As always, feel free to contact me with your thoughts and concerns at any time. You can call me at  651-296-5655 or send me an email at sen.mary.kiffmeyer@senate.mn.