Dear Neighbor,
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you and your family as we continue preparing at the Capitol for the 2015 session to start Jan. 6.
I have received very positive feedback regarding a recent letter I sent which noted my efforts to bring improved customer service to government so agencies are more of a resource for citizens. That really struck a chord with people and their responses confirm the importance of making this happen. Please continue providing me with your thoughts on how we can improve agency-citizen relations in our state as we prepare to draft proposals for the upcoming session.
Another key project will be to find ways we can make MNsure more effective, efficient and transparent. State officials released a number of concerning points during a recent meeting, including the fact MNsure is lowering its enrollment projections for 2015 and beyond.
Advocates who created MNsure said the government-run health insurance program would be self-sustainable. Significant structural problems occurring with MNsure from the time it launched one year ago raised doubt. Now, MNsure predicts it will end 2014 with 46,000 commercial market enrollees and expects to retain 37,000 of those customers going into 2015. This is down from the original projected enrollment of up to 270,000 for 2014.
On top of that, MNsure once again significantly reduced commercial market enrollment projections for 2015 – now down from 100,000 to 67,000 total enrollees by the end of 2015.
These large cuts to enrollment projections ultimately mean a shortfall in revenue from the 3.5-percent health insurance tax that is supposed to pay for this program as federal funding is gradually reduced.
Next year, 93 percent of MNsure’s $86 million operating budget will come from continuing federal grants and the Minnesota Dept. of Human Services. In 2016 and beyond, MNsure will receive far less federal funding and the responsibility of paying for MNsure will increasingly shift toward state taxpayers.
We are looking to provide legislative oversight of the MNsure budget and processes in order to gain greater efficiency and create a more effective agency for our tax dollars. I look forward to your input and hope you have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Good luck,
Jeff