Minn. Politicians Clash On MNsure's Performance So Far
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton says he's pleased with the progress of Minnesota's health care exchange so far.
The comments come after the federal rollout of Obamacare, which has been plagued with problems.
Minnesota's health exchange went online Oct. 1 and has not had the widespread problems other states have experienced.
Buy why is Minnesota apparently doing better than other states?
The biggest differences are in the state-run exchanges. For states that created their own exchanges, things appear to be operating more smoothly.
That's not to say Minnesota is problem-free.
Minnesota's health exchange may be up and running, but MNsure hasn't yet revealed how many people have actually signed up. And Dayton says it's going to take a year to fully measure how it's doing.
"Given the complexity and the scope of the project, I think it has performed phenomenally well," the governor said Tuesday.
On the federal site, millions of people have not been able to access information, let alone sign up for insurance. In Minnesota, MNsure says it has had 36,546 unique visits, 18,560 accounts created and 3,769 waiting to enroll.
Rep. Greg Davids (R, District 28B) calls the lack of actual enrollees "an unmitigated disaster."
"We spent $152 million for something Minnesota insurance agents have done for free for years," he said.
Dayton, a Democrat, calls the Minnesota rollout "huge and vastly complicated," adding that states like Minnesota and Kentucky are outperforming the federal government.
"We are on the cutting edge," the governor said. "We are ahead of virtually any other state and also the federal government. So we are pioneering this whole undertaking."
The new federal law goes into effect Jan. 1. Minnesota is encouraging people to log on to MNsure.org and sign up for insurance.
The state expects more than one million Minnesotans to participate.
