Medica returns to individual market, bringing a second insurance option to 60 Minnesota counties

Jan. 31--Medica's health plans are an option once again for people buying individual health insurance.

The Minnetonka-based health plan reported in November that it had hit its enrollment cap for 2017 in the state's non-group market, and hasn't been an option for new customers as a result.

But the state Commerce Department reported Tuesday that not as many 2016 customers at Medica renewed coverage as expected, meaning the health plan has room for an unspecified number of new enrollees.

The development is particularly important for consumers in about 60 counties across western and southern Minnesota that otherwise have had only one health plan option in the individual market.

"Medica's 2017 enrollment has fallen below the set limit, so it is again accepting new enrollments for 2017," the Commerce Department said in a statement.

The news affects only the state's individual market, where about 5 percent of Minnesotans buy coverage. It's the market for self-employed people and those who don't get coverage from their employer or a government program.

The individual market has been undergoing significant change with the federal Affordable Care Act, with several carriers reporting large financial losses, as a result. Last fall, Commerce said it would let Medica and most other insurers that sell non-group coverage in Minnesota cap enrollment as an emergency measure to help save the market.

Insurers facing the prospect of significant financial losses had been poised to stop selling individual policies altogether. In response, regulators allowed enrollment caps, steep premium hikes and tighter networks of hospitals and doctors.

Medica is selling individual market policies for 2017 only through the state's MNsure health insurance exchange. MNsure on Saturday announced a special enrollment period that effectively extends the general deadline for buying coverage to Feb. 8.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, HealthPartners and UCare all sell coverage through MNsure, as well.

Blue Cross and HealthPartners also sell individual market policies in the "off-exchange" market, where individuals buy directly from insurers. On Monday, the companies said they would match the MNsure announcement through a special enrollment period in the off-exchange market.

Twitter: @chrissnowbeck

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