Federal Government Approves Reinsurance For Minnesota

Minnesota legislators passed a law earlier this year called the Minnesota Premium Security Plan.  This "reinsurance" plan was designed to help control the rise of health insurance premiums in the individual market for 2018.  The law required approval by the federal government, which was granted recently by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, and the Department of Health Services.

Without this reinsurance, the proposed individual health insurance rate increases for Minnesota in 2018 were looking to increase by as much as 11 percent.  Now, most Minnesota residents will see a small increase, if any, in their premiums.

This is great news for over 160,000 Minnesotans who buy their health insurance plans through the individual market, whether on MNsure, or outside of it.  Insurance carriers are scheduled to release their new rates for 2018 on October 2nd.  The open enrollment period for purchasing health insurance for January 1st, 2018 starts on November 1st, and is currently scheduled to end on December 15th.