Statement on 2019 insurance premiums for people who buy their own insurance

“While people in other states are seeing double-digit increases in health insurance premiums for 2019, we aren’t.

That’s because the state is helping Minnesotans who buy insurance on their own with reinsurance, which helps pay high medical bills. It’s a practical approach to keep health insurance premiums in check, despite rising medical bills. And other states are following our lead.

While reinsurance doesn’t make care less expensive, it does a lot to keep premiums from rising for the 4 percent of Minnesotans who buy health insurance on their own. It works because state money is used to pay the medical bills of Minnesotans. It doesn’t pay insurance companies.

We need to renew the reinsurance program because we know it works. Unless the next legislature and governor renew it, our reinsurance program will end — and Minnesota will experience the same steep increases other states are seeing.”

–Jim Schowalter, president
Minnesota Council of Health Plans