St. Paul, MN—The Department of Commerce announced Wednesday that lowest cost options for many men and women using Minnesota’s Obamacare exchange website, MNsure, is increasing by over 20 percent next year. Rep. Joe Hoppe (R-Chaska), Republican-lead on the House Commerce Committee, issued the following statement following the release of the health insurance premium rates for the 2014-2015 open enrollment period.
"Democrats promised that the average family would save $500 per year thanks to MNsure," Rep. Hoppe said. "Instead, health insurance premiums are going up yet again. Today's release is a disappointment for families struggling to afford Obamacare premiums, and a letdown for those expecting real transparency on pricing from Governor Dayton’s Administration. After $160,000,000 of taxpayer money spent on a website that doesn’t work and thousands in bonuses for top MNsure executives, Minnesotans deserve the truth about how much more they will pay next year."
Since the implementation of Obamacare began last year, insurance premium costs are rising faster than ever. According to the Commonwealth Fund, individual market insurance premiums from 2003-2010 rose a total of 35 percent in Minnesota. In the first full year of Obamacare in Minnesota, the same rates rose 47 percent for Minnesotans according to the Manhattan Institute. One of the largest insurers remaining on MNsure is seeing a 17 percent average increase for 2015, meaning thousands of Minnesotans are going to see a huge increase in insurance costs.
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