Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

MNsure says 2015 premiums going up but will remain nation's lowest
Pioneer Press ^ | 10-1-14 | Nick Woltman

Posted on 10/01/2014 7:50:32 PM PDT by TurboZamboni

Premiums on the state's MNsure health insurance exchange will rise in 2015, but they will still likely be the lowest in the nation.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce said Wednesday that the rates offered by the four insurers still participating in the exchange will increase an average of 4.5 percent over their 2014 levels.

"Not only is the average rate increase low for companies returning to the exchange, but Minnesotans living in each area of the state will have more product choices available this year to fit their individual health insurance needs," Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman said in a statement.

Republican critics of MNsure were quick to point out the actual cost for many users will likely go up much more than 4.5 percent, signaling the health exchange and its rocky start will remain a political issue ahead of the Nov. 4 general election.

"I think the 4.5 percent rate increase is completely bogus," said Senate Minority Leader David Hann, R-Eden Prairie. "It's deceptive."

It's impossible to make an apples-to-apples comparison of 2014 and 2015 premiums without including PreferredOne, Republicans said. PreferredOne had more than half the private insurance enrollments in 2014's exchange and the lowest-cost plans, too. But the Golden Valley insurer said in September that it was dropping out of the 2015 exchange because it couldn't sustain its pricing.

Hann pointed to Commerce Department figures that suggest Twin Cities residents who selected the lowest-cost plans on the exchange in 2014 will see an average increase of 18 percent to 37 percent. These lowest-cost plans were among the most popular on the exchange.

(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...


TOPICS: Government; US: Minnesota
KEYWORDS: dayton; exchange; mn; obamacare

1 posted on 10/01/2014 7:50:32 PM PDT by TurboZamboni
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: TurboZamboni

So comforting.


2 posted on 10/01/2014 7:54:40 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo (Plea$e $upport Free Republic.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TurboZamboni

Hey, Minnesota, what about the really high deductibles? And subsidies? Hold on to your wallet taxpayers!


3 posted on 10/01/2014 8:07:36 PM PDT by From The Deer Stand
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TurboZamboni

The rates for offerings by the four companies that remain in the plan will go up by only 4.5%, but the article very carefully doesn’t mention that the participants will be facing very much higher increases.

The companies that have dropped out of the program were the ones that offered the least expensive plans - and they covered the majority of patients in the plan.

That majority, who chose the inexpensive plans that are no longer offered, aren’t likely to be comforted by the knowledge that the expensive plans they didn’t want last year, but are now going to be forced to choose, aren’t going to be much more expensive than they were.


4 posted on 10/01/2014 8:20:01 PM PDT by jdege
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson