Southeastern Minnesota will get more health insurance choices on MNsure

State officials announced Wednesday that they have coaxed Medica into selling health plans on the MNsure exchange to individuals and small businesses in Olmsted and Dodge counties for 2014, in an effort to offer more competition in a part of the state where premiums are high.

Until now, only Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota offered plans under the month-old MNsure insurance exchange in that region. Other insurers selling coverage in Minnesota balked at selling insurance in those counties, because Mayo Clinic is the dominant health care provider and is able to demand higher payment rates.

Residents complained that the MNsure plans in those counties were extremely expensive - in some cases costing hundreds more per month in premiums than their current private health plans.

'Minnesotans, regardless of where they live - Rochester, Duluth, Eveleth, or the Twin Cities, and everyone across the state - deserve choice when purchasing health insurance coverage,' said Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman.

The state Health and Commerce departments approved seven new plans from Medica for those counties - with two plans each at the gold, silver and bronze metal levels of benefits. A low-premium, high-deductible catastrophic plan will also be offered. MNsure officials are now in the process of adding the plans to the online marketplace.

A timetable showing when the new plans will become available was not released.

MNsure was created as part of the federal Accountable Care Act to provide more affordable insurance options to Minnesotans and to extend coverage to the roughly 490,000 people in the state who are uninsured.

Jeremy Olson * 612-673-7744

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