As MNsure Enrollment Deadline Nears, Officials Push Discount
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- After months of waiting, thousands of Minnesota families will soon get a discount on their health insurance premiums.
Monthly bills skyrocketed for some this year. Customers who earn too much to get help from tax credits will now receive rebates this spring.
So Friday, MNsure urged shoppers to sign up as soon as possible before Tuesday's deadline.
Speaking in the Governor's Cabinet Room, MNsure CEO Allison O'Toole said premium relief will be coming for an estimated 125,000 people -- if they sign up for their health insurance in time.
"We need help getting correct information to consumers because time is short," O'Toole said.
Health insurance premium rebates will be offered to Minnesotans in the individual health insurance market who do not receive federal premium tax credits.
Those customers will get a 25-percent automatic discount on their monthly premium bills.
Ann Buck and her family of eight ended up going with a Christian sharing network this year, out of fear a MNsure relief plan would not come through in time. She says if the premium help stays, they will consider enrolling next year.
"I think it's a very good start and I do appreciate all the work that has gone into this issue," Buck said. "Ours was going to be $40,000 a year, and so I'm thinking it would knock it down."
State officials estimate around 125,000 Minnesotans are illegible for the automatic discount, which will save on average $130 a person each month.
Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Myron Frans says the premium relief is set to last through the end of the year.
"The governor's been really clear we need to work on 2018, but this relief package today is designed to help 2017," Frans said.
The premium relief will begin in April for eligible customers by automatically deducting the 25-percent discount on their monthly bill, and it is retroactive for the year.
People purchasing insurance through the individual market have until Tuesday to sign up.
