Ouch. While most states are seeing their list of insurance providers increasing this year, in a few cases some are dropping out...and in the case of Minnesota, it's the one with 59% of current enrollees:
The insurer with the lowest rates and most customers on Minnesota's health care exchange is pulling out.
Golden Valley-based PreferredOne this morning confirmed its exit from MNsure. It comes as a major blow to the exchange — the next open enrollment period starts Nov. 15 and runs through Feb. 15.
MNsure officials said the online insurance exchange would reach out soon to PreferredOne customers who bought coverage through MNsure last year with information on next steps.
They said consumers still have at least four, well-known, Minnesota-based carriers "who are committed to providing important health coverage" to everyone, including people who qualify for tax credits and public programs.
...According to a company statement, MNsure policies make up only a small percentage of PreferredOne's entire enrollment but take up a significant amount of resources to support.
If it seems like I keep posting Minnesota's latest every few days, that's because...well, frankly, I am, for two reasons: First, they're updating it every few days (almost odometer-like); and second, MNsure is pretty much the only one posting updates on a regular basis (again, Oregon is now the only one doing so more frequently than once a month).
On the up side, those MN numbers keep increasing at a pretty impressive rate, with another 294 QHPs added and 5,848 more added to Medicaid/CHIP in just the past 6 days:
latest enrollment numbers
September 2, 2014
Health Coverage Type Total Enrollments
Medical Assistance 191,568
MinnesotaCare 69,671 Qualified Health Plan (QHP) 54,354 TOTAL 315,593
For some perspective, this means that Minnesota's total ACA exchange enrollments have gone up over 5.1% in just the past 12 days.
The Good News: Minnesota, as always, continues to provide consistent, up-to-date enrollment data, adding 56 QHPs over a 3 day period:
latest enrollment numbers
August 24, 2014
Health Coverage Type Total Enrollments
Medical Assistance 183,503
MinnesotaCare 67,054
Qualified Health Plan (QHP) 53,866
TOTAL 304,423
The Bad News: Up until recently I was only receiving regular upates from 3 states (plus monthly updates from Maryland and random, occasional updates from various other states). For the past few weeks, however, even 2 of those 3 states (Hawaii and Oregon) have seemingly gone radio silent as well. Aside from the next monthly MD update (due sometime this week, I believe), that leaves Minnesota as the sole state keeping their data up to date.
Meanwhile, Minnesota's exchange Medicaid total has now broken the 250K mark and stands at 250,557.
I received the following email from someone regarding small group insurance policies out of Minnesota (emphasis mine):
Maybe not useful to you, but an insurance agent in MN told me he just got quotes for his first three 2015 group coverage renewals: -7.5%, -2.5%, -7.5%.
He's slightly shocked.
I asked if he could provide some further details; so far this is as much as he's able to add:
...He's rural, so those are likely group plans for small businesses, maybe a small school system. Recent changes have been +8-24%, so this is a gigantic change.
Vermont signed a revised contract with the tech firm Optum that expands its role in Vermont Health Connect’s operations.
Optum already had a contract worth $5.6 million for consulting work, and the latest deal, signed Aug. 15, is worth an additional $9.5 million for a total of $15.1 million.
...At latest count, Optum has helped the state halve its backlog of coverage changes and information errors from a high of more than 14,000 to roughly 7,000. Also, close to 4,000 people are having billing issues with Vermont Health Connect. There is some overlap between the two groups, Miller said.
When I updated the Minnesota exchange numbers just a few days ago, they stood at 53,647 QHPs & 240,654 Medicaid/CHIP enrollees...or 294,301 total.
Just 3 days later, the MNsure exchange has tacked on almost 5,800 more people, breaking through the 300,000 mark:
More Than 300,000 Minnesotans Enroll in Quality Health Coverage Through MNsure
ST. PAUL, Minn.—MNsure today announced that 300,085 Minnesotans have enrolled in comprehensive, affordable health insurance coverage through the state health insurance marketplace.
“I’m proud to announce today that more than 300,000 Minnesotans have enrolled in health insurance through MNsure,” said MNsure CEO Scott Leitz. “During the State Fair, we hope to help even more Minnesotans find comprehensive, affordable coverage that meets the needs of their families or small businesses. Be sure to visit us in the Health Fair 11 building and bring your questions about MNsure.”
