To the editor,
More work remains to improve the affordability and accessibility of health insurance, but it was a refreshing twist to recently receive good news regarding those issues at the state level.
The good news is that changes the Minnesota Legislature brought to fruition earlier this year could end the four-year trend of double-digit premium increases since the implementation of MNsure – our state’s version of the federal Affordable Care Act.
This spring, legislation was enacted to restore competition in the individual market by addressing two key areas where MNsure was faltering – affordability and accessibility – and it appears to be working.
The Minnesota Department of Commerce indicates rates could have risen by 25 percent or more without the reforms we achieved. Instead, the Minnesota Premium Security Plan is projected to result in premium decreases for tens of thousands of Minnesotans, and lead to much smaller increases than in the past few years for others. Just as importantly, all current insurers will continue serving the individual market next year which will help to provide access to networks of hospitals and doctors.
However, this all comes with a caveat: The federal government must approve these improvements before the benefits may be realized. To accomplish that, House Speaker Rep. Kurt Daudt issued a letter to federal Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price urging support for the State’s reinsurance program to proceed.
Looking back, Minnesota was a national leader in health care before the federal government changed the landscape. Although it is disconcerting that we are now counting on the same federal government which mandated changes to our historic success as a state to allow the Premium Security Plan to be implemented, I’m hopeful that authorization will come.
Though legislators did not all agree on the Premium Security Act, nearly everyone recognized that average premium rate increases by double digits every year since 2014 – including nearly 60 percent for 2017 – were not sustainable. In addition to those crises, the Legislature also needed to find a way to move beyond the estimated $300-plus million, one-time emergency support system which, when enacted early in the session, assisted those in urgent need of losing coverage they could no longer afford from the 2017 rate hike.
So, going into 2018, it appears that if we receive federal approval, those in the individual market should see tolerable premium changes, or in some case some reduction. But, at the same time, we need to remember this is a continuing process because the reforms we enacted this year are not a permanent solution, but rather a stop-gap until further action can be taken.
We all hope in the not too distant future a long-term solution can be determined. However, in the interim, it will be important for those purchasing in the individual market to work closely with a trusted adviser since changes will continue to occur, and professional advice will be very helpful in making the correct choices.
Sincerely,
Rep. Bob Vogel