Republicans, Believe It Or Not Came Up With Health Care Fix in Minnesota

Yes They Did!

The conservatives love to say ACA is failing and in a death spiral, and in Minnesota last year it looked like that was the situation.

MINNEAPOLIS — Last fall, as consumers in Minnesota were facing health insurance rate increases of 50 percent or more, Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, said the Affordable Care Act was “no longer affordable to increasing numbers of people.” The state’s top insurance regulator said the Minnesota market was “on the verge of collapse.”

So the GOP in the state came up with a plan for the state to get into the reinsurance business, and Dems opposed it, probably on the basis that any plan the Republicans came up with wasn't any good.

The Minnesota plan was a Republican initiative. Most Democrats voted against the bill, and Governor Dayton allowed it to become law without his signature. Many Democrats preferred a different approach that would have allowed consumers to buy coverage under an existing state program.

But Democrats, unlike conservatives believe in government so they went along, and now the results are in. They look good.

HealthPartners, a Minnesota company that provides coverage to 62,000 people who buy insurance on their own, has proposed rate reductions that average 13 percent to 15 percent next year. Without the reinsurance program, it would require rate increases of 3 percent to 5 percent, it said in filings with the Minnesota Commerce Department.

Yes, you are reading that correctly. RATES WENT DOWN! The problem with health care is the 90-10 or 80-20 rule, 10% to 20% of the insured incur 90% to 80% of the costs. Reinsurance takes much of the high payouts out of the insurance company and in this case, moves it to the state reinsurance plan.

This happens a lot in the private world, and there is no reason it cannot work in the public world. If only conservatives will get over their 'ideology over public benefit' bias it will help everyone.