Minnesota Lawmakers Pass Bill to Eliminate State Insurance Marketplace

_­­The Minnesota House of Representatives passed a measure to dismantle the State’s health care exchange, MNSure, and return to the federal insurance exchange.

The measure was part of a larger human services bill, which provides $13.7 billion dollars to fund health care in the state. The funding package was approved with a vote of 74-53.

The Minnesota Senate recently passed a similar bill; however, that legislation did not include language to dismantle the MNSure exchange. Members of the Minnesota House-Senate conference committee will meet to negotiate the final language of the health care funding package. Afterwards, the final version of the bill will have to pass through the House, Senate, and Governor’s office, before becoming law.

MNSure is currently one of 11 state exchanges throughout the country that were set up after the ACA became law in order to give state residents access to competitively priced health insurance plans. According to recent reports, MNSure had a record enrollment year, with over 100,000 residents purchasing insurance through the MNSure website. Some Democratic lawmakers in the state called the plan to scrap MNSure “irresponsible,” in light of the uncertainty on the federal health care level.

According to reports, while the state’s funding health care funding bill is $2 billion more than over the last 2 years, because of health care inflation and an increase in utilization, the measure cuts about $600 million in spending. —David Costill