WOODBURY, MINN— Health insurance premium rates through the failed $400 million MNsure website have reached historic levels. Preliminary rate increases were released through Healthcare.Gov on Thursday afternoon. Minnesota families and individuals who buy insurance on their own could pay an average increase around 60 percent, the highest average increase of any year since Governor Dayton and Democrats established MNsure.
Thursday’s preliminary rate increases are on top of increases of up to 17 percent and 49 percent in the past two years. Over 75 percent of people who buy health insurance on their own do not receive any financial assistance from MNsure. Last session, House Republicans voted to reduce the MNsure tax which would have saved families at least $22 million over the next three years. The measure passed the House, but was vocally opposed by Democrat legislators and was not enacted.
“Woodbury families cannot afford these kind of significant health insurance price hikes year after year. The state leaders who created MNsure need to stop turning a blind eye to the failures of the exchange and the serious problems it is causing Minnesotans, and join the conversation about ways to implement meaningful reforms that will lower the cost of health care. I will continue to advocate for commonsense policies that reduce health care costs for families and provide more, affordable options for people in our community.”