Feds deny Minnesota request to extend health insurance open enrollment

Jan. 14--Most Minnesotans buying health insurance on the individual market will have to sign up for 2017 plans by Jan. 31, despite a plea from lawmakers and Gov. Mark Dayton.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell denied Dayton's request to extend open enrollment into February. In a letter to Dayton, Burwell said federal regulations fix that open enrollment period and don't give flexibility for exceptions.

The idea for an extension came from Republican Rep. Greg Davids last October, and was embraced by Dayton as a "constructive solution."

Had Burwell approved an extension, the roughly 250,000 Minnesotans who buy health insurance on the individual market would have had more time to select a final plan for 2017. That could matter in part because Minnesota lawmakers are still negotiating over a relief package for the roughly 120,000 Minnesotans who face skyrocketing premiums but aren't eligible for federal subsidies. If that relief becomes law, it could be with only days to go before the end of open enrollment.

Even though open enrollment lasts until Jan. 31, this Sunday, Jan. 15, is the deadline to purchase health insurance that will take effect in February. The state-run health insurance exchange MNsure is extending its call center hours on Sunday, and anyone on hold at midnight will still be able to purchase insurance.

Some Minnesotans will still be able to buy health insurance in February after the open enrollment period ends. Anyone who had their 2016 health insurance involuntarily terminated -- such as the 103,000 Minnesotans affected when Blue Cross Blue Shield pulled out of the individual market -- have a special enrollment period that runs through February.

Though Burwell denied the extension, she did promise Dayton to "work with you and MNsure to explore options that may be available to ensure that customers in Minnesota have the time they need to enroll in coverage."

Dayton said he's exploring what that could include, but said he wasn't hopeful given that President-elect Donald Trump's impending inauguration.

"With all due respect, that's written by someone who's leaving office," Dayton said of Burwell's letter.

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HHS SECRETARY SYLVIA BURWELL'S LETTER

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