Dear Neighbor,
The enrollment deadline for MNsure – the Minnesota version of Obamacare – is set for Monday, March 31. This means that Minnesotans must select a plan and pay the premium in full to avoid penalties from the IRS for not having health insurance. MNsure officials announced recently Minnesotans have until 11:59 p.m. on March 31 to enroll or get “in line” for coverage. Click here to learn what qualifies as getting “in line” according to MNsure.
Those who are unable to purchase insurance or get “in line” by the deadline will face penalties.
· Minnesota families of four will have to pay a minimum penalty of $285 or 1% of their family income in 2014 for being unable to purchase insurance by the deadline. Starting in 2016 the penalty will increase to a minimum of $2,085 per family of four or 2.5% of their family income.
· MNsure’s own economists estimate nearly 50,000 Minnesotans will be fined.
Last week, MNsure released new enrollment numbers and claimed they were on the verge of reaching their goals. Current enrollment for commercial plans is 35,610 – a number 87% below projections. When Democrat legislators passed and Governor Dayton signed this state government-run healthcare exchange into law, they said 270,000 Minnesotans would sign up in the commercial market in 2014. Those claims have not come to fruition. If enrollment does not improve, all Minnesotans will pay more in higher premiums and higher taxes for a program that failed to live up to promises of those who put it in place.
As always, I am interested in your feedback. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at Rep.Kathy.Lohmer@House.MN or contact my office at 651-296-4244. You can also send mail to my office address: 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.
Sincerely,
Kathy