MNsure CEO Departing For New Job

March 14--Allison O'Toole is stepping down as chief executive at the state's MNsure health insurance exchange to take a job with a new health policy group.

O'Toole announced her decision at the start of a board meeting Wednesday in St. Paul, saying she will leave the MNsure job in April. The board accepted O'Toole's resignation effective April 13 before adjourning to an executive decision to consider naming as interim CEO Nathan Clark, who currently is the chief operating officer.

When it was launched as part of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2013, MNsure stumbled badly out of the gate with widespread technology problems that outraged consumers and made the exchange a target for Republican attacks.

"We all know we did not start off in a perfect place," O'Toole said during the meeting. "But I'm so proud of the work that the MNsure team has done in recent years, and know that they will continue to improve the system in future years."

The exchange saw two chief executives within its first two years of operations. O'Toole took the top job at MNsure in May 2015 on an interim basis, before becoming the permanent CEO in November 2015.

O'Toole's tenure hasn't been without challenges, including a difficult start to open enrollment in November 2016 that was marred by alleged "robocallers" jamming the MNsure call center. But MNsure's operations have improved, as shown by growing enrollment numbers that have bucked the trend nationally.

"Though we still have more work to do, when it comes to the rate of insurance, Minnesota ranks among the top," O'Toole said. "We have helped transform the health care landscape in Minnesota because of our efforts."

She added: "As we all know here, building a new complex system from scratch in a short amount of time isn't easy."

MNsure is an option for people who buy health insurance on their own -- a market in Minnesota that's shrunk significantly under the ACA, which provides large subsidies for many who buy individual policies via a government-run exchange. The exchanges face a challenge going forward, since a tax bill passed last year by Republicans and signed into law by President Donald Trump eliminates in 2019 tax penalties in the ACA for individuals who lack health insurance.

MNsure has an annual budget of more than $40 million and 150 employees.

O'Toole is taking a job with a new health policy group called the United States of Care that's being launched by Andy Slavitt, the former UnitedHealth Group executive who led implementation of the federal health law during the Obama administration.

With headquarters in Washington D.C. and Minneapolis, the nonprofit aspires to find consensus on access to affordable health care.

___

(c)2018 the Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

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

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.