ST. PAUL – The Minnesota House of Representatives has approved a program designed to stabilize health care premiums by mitigating the impact of high-risk individuals, or those who are the most sick, on the individual health insurance market. The plan was supported by State Representative Tony Cornish (R-Vernon Center).
“By removing some pressure from the insurance companies who are covering our sickest residents, it could help keep costs down for the remaining pool of patients,” Cornish said. “A non-partisan analysis found that if this plan takes effect it could actually reduce premium rates by 17 to 18 percent or more.”
Cornish said the Minnesota Premium Security Plan will bring badly needed stability to the individual health insurance market, which is now a third as large and twice as sick as it was prior to Obamacare.
According to the legislation, the Minnesota Premium Security Plan will be administered by the Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association (MCHA), which for over forty years ran a high risk pool that brought stability to the individual market and ensured the sickest Minnesotans had access to needed coverage. It will be funded using existing revenue sources.
The MCHA board, comprised of members of the public and health plan experts, will design payment parameters to mitigate risk, stabilize or reduce premium rates, increase participation, and account for federal funding available for the plan.