Governor Mark Dayton has called a meeting with legislative leaders next Monday afternoon to decide whether he’ll call a special session to address rising health insurance premiums on the MNsure exchange. Dayton proposes state assistance to reduce health insurance premiums 25 percent next year for those not qualifying for federal tax credits. Republicans want premium reductions based on income, which Dayton says is not workable short term. He says, “If they don’t want to help people because of the upper income levels, that would be a historic first for the Republican Party. We can certainly discuss that, but in means we’re not gonna have a program in place in January.”
Both sides appear far apart and Dayton faces a tight deadline to call a special session, with Christmas fast approaching and the start of the regular session just over one month away.