To the editor,
Problems with MNsure have been well-chronicled during the four months the program has been in place. I welcome local citizens to share with me their personal experiences.
Information from people in our area would be very helpful as we consider ways of improving Minnesota’s version of Obamacare during the upcoming legislative session.
More than $150 million has been spent on technology and start-up costs for MNsure. Total costs are projected to reach at least one-third of a billion dollars by 2016, none of which going toward actual health care.
With spending of this magnitude, taxpayers deserve performance. Instead, consumers have experienced ongoing website crashes, extremely long wait times, confusing processes, the inability to submit payments, incomplete information transactions between MNsure and carriers, vulnerability to WiFi attacks and breaches of private data.
Have you experienced any of these issues, or are you one of the fortunate few who have found the process to be seamless?
One key obstacle we face in fixing MNsure is Gov. Mark Dayton and fellow Democrats gave the new quasi-agency autonomous control. We in the minority asked for greater oversight, a larger and more experienced board of directors and a more efficient business model to protect taxpayers and prevent glitches. We wrote hundreds of amendments that would have made MNsure transparent and affordable, but were denied at almost every step.
Now, some of the MNsure problems may be irreparable in the current structure, while others would require legislative action to fix. Your input would help us with the latter.
Email is the best way to share your thoughts, ideas and concerns with me. Your correspondence will remain confidential.
Sincerely,
Rep. Bud Nornes