MNsure health insurance open enrollment begins today (8am). MNsure CEO Allison O’Toole says there are new tools available to consumers this year, including drug formulary pricing which allows customers to comparison shop and get a sense of out-of-pocket costs. In addition, there are around 16-hundred MNsure assisters are on hand starting today to help answer consumer’s questions. O’Toole is encouraging Minnesotans to comparison shop–and to see if they’re eligible for federal tax credits. She says “those tax credits last year averaged about $7000 a year and that is real money for Minnesota families.”This is the 5th enrollment period for the state-run exchange. The deadline to sign up is January 14th.