Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton on Wednesday said that the increase in health insurance costs in Minnesota highlights “some serious blemishes right now and serious deficiencies” in the federal health care law known as Obamacare.
“Ultimately … the reality is the Affordable Care Act is no longer affordable for an increasing number of people,” the DFL governor, who signed the state law ushering in the Affordable Care Act in Minnesota, said Wednesday. “We’re going to need both state and federal governments to step in and do what they need to do to remedy these problems.”
Last month, state officials announced that health insurance companies on the individual market will increase their premiums between 50 and 67 percent. The massive increases are among the largest in the nation and come amid shrinking provider networks on health insurance plans. Additionally, many counties outside of the Twin Cities metro area will have more limited choices of health insurers.
“It’s a very serious problem,” Dayton said Wednesday.
Those massive increases don’t affect most Minnesotans. Rather, they’re concentrated in the individual health insurance market, which covers around 5 percent of Minnesotans. Most Minnesotans get their coverage either through an employer or from a government program.
The reality is the Affordable Care Act is no longer affordable for an increasing number of people.”
Still, Dayton’s commerce commissioner said the rate increases indicate an emergency.
“These are middle-class Minnesotans,” Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman said in announcing the rates last month. “They are getting squeezed — crushed — by these health insurance costs.”
Premium spikes in the individual health insurance market will be offset for many who are eligible for tax subsidies, available for those who buy insurance through MNsure, the state’s health insurance exchange. But people who earn more than $47,520 for an individual or $97,200 for a family of four don’t qualify for subsidies. Neither do people who bypass MNsure and buy insurance directly from insurance companies.
The individual insurance market also has a shortage of insurance carriers, after Blue Cross Blue Shield withdrew from the market this summer. Other carriers threatened to withdraw as well but were persuaded to remain in — but most of them are capping the number of customers they will accept. Outside of the Twin Cities metro area, individual market customers might find their preferred doctor outside of their network.
Dayton said the state may look at giving insurers greater flexibility and he will examine, after the November election, whether an emergency special session could give Minnesotans some relief from health care cost increases. Lawmakers and the governor had spent the summer working toward a special session for other issues but reached no agreement. The next regular session of the Legislature starts in January.
The governor said the federal government should also play a role, perhaps by offering greater tax credits to consumers or making other significant changes.
“There are a number of things that need to be done,” Dayton said.
Republicans quickly pounced on Dayton’s remarks with a sharp “we told you so.”
“I guess it’s better late than never, but Minnesota Republicans pointed out these flaws and tried to pass amendments to the legislation when Democrats under single-party rule first passed it without a single Republican vote,” Minnesota Republican Party chairman Keith Downey said.
Since the 2010 federal passage of the health care overhaul it had been a heated campaign issue. Largely, Republicans have called for its repeal or for massive changes, while most Democrats have defended the act by noting — as Dayton did Wednesday — that the law helped bring down the rates of uninsured. In Congress and in Minnesota, the conflict between the two parties has resulted in few changes.
The entire Minnesota Legislature is up for election this year, as is the U.S. House, certain U.S. senators nationally and the presidency. In many of those races, health care has been one of the major issues put to voters, and the results will determine what happens next with health care.