MNsure adds 1,500 with added week for special enrollment

Feb. 09--MNsure saw a record high volume during the enrollment period that ended Wednesday with more than 117,000 sign-ups overall for 2017 coverage, state officials said Thursday.

Open enrollment typically lasts three months, but was extended this year by a week to give certain individual market shoppers extra time to tap special state government rebates.

During the extra period, about 1,500 signed up for coverage through MNsure, said Allison O'Toole, the exchange's chief executive, during a news conference Thursday in St. Paul.

Overall, about 41,000 people who bought through MNsure will tap the rebates that are worth about $130 per month, O'Toole said.

The rebates were available only to those who didn't qualify for income-based tax credits through MNsure. Premiums spiked this year for people buying health insurance in the state's individual market, and the increases drove higher volume to MNsure as well as interest in the rebates.

"Minnesota set a new enrollment record," O'Toole said of sign-ups through MNsure.

The exchange is an option for people who buy in the individual market, which serves people who are self-employed or don't get coverage from an employer or government program. Last year, about 250,000 people bought coverage through the market, with the vast majority buying directly from health insurers.

Minnesota launched the MNsure exchange to implement the federal Affordable Care Act, which requires almost all Americans to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty.

Twitter: @chrissnowbeck

___

(c)2017 the Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Visit the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) at www.startribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.