Donald Trump cut back last-minute health insurance advertising. Minnesota’s not following suit.

Jan. 28--President Donald Trump's administration has pulled back some of the advertising encouraging Americans to buy health insurance in the final week of 2017 open enrollment, but Minnesota's state-run insurance exchange isn't following suit.

MNsure has its own budget for advertising and outreach and will spend around $80,000 over the next five days until Jan. 31 encouraging Minnesotans to buy health insurance.

"Our ads and outreach will continue through Jan. 31," said MNsure CEO Allison O'Toole Friday. "It's business as usual."

It wasn't business as usual at the federal level. Trump has called for a repeal of former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, and this week his Department of Health and Human Services canceled some of its remaining outreach ads. (Some of those cuts were later reversed.)

Americans have until midnight on Jan. 31 to purchase individual market health insurance unless they have a special situation, such as losing a job or having a baby.

Under the Affordable Care Act, Americans are required to have health insurance or pay a penalty. Part of the law includes outreach encouraging people to purchase health insurance -- especially young, healthy people, who generally have lower medical costs and contribute to a more robust and affordable marketplace.

Many states let the federal government run their health insurance marketplaces, and so were reliant on federal ads to encourage enrollment. Minnesota opted for a state-run version, which left state officials responsible for fixing technical issues but also gave more control over its outreach budget.

"Frankly it would be irresponsible of us to not be reaching out to consumers right now in this critical time," O'Toole said.

A spokesperson for the federal Department of Health and Human Services told Politico that the advertising cutback was an attempt to find "efficiencies" and cut costs.

MNsure's budget for the current enrollment period includes $2.1 million for advertising, including billboards and advertisements on TV, radio and online.

The final five days before open enrollment ends Jan. 31 will see MNsure spend $80,000 -- 5 percent of its budget.

Half that money will be spent on digital ads, around $23,000 on TV ads, $11,300 on radio ads and just under $6,000 on billboards and bus shelters.

That advertising budget is out of a total $41.4 million MNsure budget approved by its board of directors last summer. MNsure gets money from a 3.5 percent tax on health insurance plans purchased through it as well as federal grants and reimbursements from the state Department of Human Services.

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