A bill is moving forward in the Minnesota Senate that would have the state continue kicking in money to hold down increases in health insurance premiums. Redwood Falls Republican Gary Dahms says, “Reinsurance has worked very well. It’s come in much cheaper than what we thought it would,… and it’s kept the individual market, kept that as a viable option.” But Amanda Otero with TakeAction Minnesota says the state needs to do more than hold premiums at current levels. She points to a 50-year-old Rochester couple earning 85 thousand dollars with a 17-year-old child. “With reinsurance, the cheapest qualified health plan that they can buy with less than an 11-thousand-dollar deductible is 1737 dollars per month,” she says.
Governor Tim Walz wants to allow all Minnesotans, regardless of income, to purchase health coverage through state-run MinnesotaCare.