For Immediate Release: October 1, 2015
Contact: Greta Bergstrom, 651.336.6722, greta@takeactionminnesota.org
St. Paul, MN – TakeAction Minnesota released the following statement in response to today’s release of 2016 private health insurance rates:
“In the private individual market, people are being asked to pay more and more for less and less coverage. This is not new, but it is a problem for working families.
“The good news is that the ACA creates a measure of security for many Minnesotans who can qualify for assistance. And in Minnesota, many low-income workers qualify for MinnesotaCare which pools federal, state, and individual dollars to provide quality affordable health care. Everyone without affordable employer coverage should shop through MNsure to find out what assistance they may qualify for.
“The bad news is that the private individual market is still not delivering good value for our federal and individual dollars, which increasingly go to the lowest-premium, highest-deductible plans and the narrowest network plans.
“This trend was illustrated earlier this week in the announcement of decreased charity care and increased bad debt at Minnesota Hospitals. Our public programs are working to get people into quality coverage, but our private market is leaving too many people with coverage gaps and medical debt.
“We have an opportunity in the Health Care Financing Task Force and beyond to build on what is working and extend affordable coverage to more Minnesotans who need it. To do this, Minnesota must explore reforms that would improve the coverage options people have, and protect them from the risk of medical debt. This could mean improving the private plans offered on MNsure, expanding MinnesotaCare, or moving to a universal coverage system that pools risk and resources for all Minnesotans. Continuing to pay more for less in the private market is not an option.”
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TakeAction Minnesota is a statewide people’s network of individual and organizational members working together to motivate people to act publicly in order to advance economic and racial equity in our state. The organization has offices in St. Paul, Duluth and Grand Rapids.
