MNsure highlights newcomers in sign-up tally

Nov. 16--Despite all the political skirmishes involving the federal Affordable Care Act, about 5,000 people newly enrolled in health insurance though MNsure during the past two weeks -- a figure that prompted state officials Wednesday to say the exchange is on pace for modest growth next year.

Open enrollment via MNsure started Nov. 1, and the number of people who have been actively picking health plans through the exchange is down significantly compared with the first two weeks last year.

But last year's early rush stemmed from one-time factors that aren't at play this time around, said Allison O'Toole, the MNsure chief executive. O'Toole stressed instead that newcomers account for nearly 40 percent of those who have been actively enrolling in coverage thus far -- a share that suggests MNsure is on track to top its budget goal of 97,400 paying customers next year.

"These numbers show steady growth and we're on track to be ahead of our enrollment projections for 2018," O'Toole said via e-mail. During a board meeting in St. Paul, she added: "We have had a really smooth start to open enrollment."

Minnesota launched the MNsure exchange to implement the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA), which requires almost all Americans to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty. Republicans in Washington D.C. signaled they might eliminate the health law's mandate for individuals to have coverage in tax legislation that's currently being debated -- a move that insurers fear could lead to healthy people leaving the market.

Uncertainty over the law's future is one reason why analysts expect enrollment will hold steady or decline across the country on health exchanges that were launched under the ACA. But O'Toole said Wednesday there was no indication from the numbers thus far that talk about eliminating the individual mandate was cutting demand for insurance in Minnesota.

MNsure is an option for the roughly 166,000 Minnesotans who buy individual health insurance. The market primarily serves people under age 65 who are self-employed or don't get coverage from their employer.

While just more than half of all individual policies are sold via MNsure, the remainder are purchased directly from insurance companies or through brokers. Open enrollment in this "off-exchange" market started Nov. 1, as well, with carriers saying demand has been steady compared with last year.

Since the launch for open enrollment on Nov. 1, about 12,500 people have actively signed up for private health insurance through MNsure, exchange officials said.

The comparable figure last year was roughly 24,000, but that was a very different open enrollment period, O'Toole said. Consumers were encouraged to quickly purchase coverage before health plans hit enrollment caps, and many were shopping fast because their coverage was being dropped by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.

Neither factor is at play during the current open enrollment period, which features relatively steady premiums and few big changes in the products being offered by health plans. Whereas open enrollment last year started with a website outage plus allegations that "robocallers" were jamming the MNsure call center, this year's sign-up period got off to a quiet start.

Overall, MNsure said about 91,000 have enrolled in coverage for 2018, with the vast majority coming from automatic renewals that in previous years weren't complete until late December. People who have been automatically renewed in coverage can still opt for a different health plan, or opt out of MNsure entirely.

MNsure's budget currently projects a peak of about 97,400 people will be buying coverage next year -- about 4 percent higher than this year's peak for "effectuated enrollment" of about 94,000 people buying individual coverage through the exchange in March.

The budget assumes about 10,000 new members will come to the exchange for 2018. The numbers released Wednesday suggest MNsure is already half way to reaching the projection for new people signing up. Open enrollment lasts through Jan. 14.

"We're definitely seeing the signs of a stabilizing market," O'Toole said. "It's not as front-loaded this year ... but we're seeing really good activity."

Twitter: @chrissnowbeck

___

(c)2017 the Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

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

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.