Gov. Dayton Releases Plan to Provide Health Insurance Rebate

Following reports that customers of Minnesota's healthcare exchange, MNsure, will see their premiums skyrocket, Gov. Mark Dayton released a plan Thursday to provide a 25 percent health insurance premium rebate to address the rising rates. Dayton said his plan would instantly provide rebates to Minnesotans, reducing rate increases from 55 percent to 16 percent on average, while reducing monthly premium bills by 25 percent.

According to WCCO, 250,000 Minnesotans who buy insurance on the open market and through MNsure could see their premiums skyrocket up to 67 percent. Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman said in a statement September that Minnesota’s individual market for 2017 was "on the verge of collapse" following the announcement that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota would be leaving the individual market. Rothman added that the rate increases in the individual market are unsustainable.

Dayton, who received national attention after stating that the Affordable Care Act is "no longer affordable to increasing numbers of people," has been under increasing pressure from lawmakers and MNSure customers to addressing the rising health insurance rates.

“As I have said before, the Affordable Care Act is now causing very difficult financial problems for about two percent of Minnesotans who purchase their insurance policies through the Individual Market and are above the income eligibility for federal tax credits," Dayton said in a statement.

“Basically, our proposal would provide monthly rebates in calendar year 2017 to people who are buying individual insurance policies and do not qualify for federal tax credits. They would receive monthly rebates of 25 percent of their insurance costs. That state assistance would, in most cases, greatly reduce their 2017 price increases. Overall, our rebates would reduce the 2017 rate increases from an average 55 percent increase to a 16 percent increase."

Dayton released a table showing how his plan would work:

Dayton's plan to reduce rates comes after Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt accused the governor of lacking leadership on the health care crisis, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

"And if I find out that those people aren't working 24/7 to find a solution to help these people get health insurance, I'm going to call for Dayton's resignation myself personally," Daudt said. "This is absolutely a dereliction of leadership that he is trying to pass the buck onto others right now."

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