The head of Minnesota’s health exchange encouraged people to sign up for health insurance, to get help from experts and to be sure they’re getting the best plan available during a stop in Austin on Monday.

MNsure CEO Allison O’Toole visited Austin’s Town Center building, where she noted it’s a critical time for MNsure as the deadline to sign up for Jan. 1 coverage is Dec. 15.

“Now is the time for Minnesotans to engage with this and get the help they need,” O’Toole said.

With some significant rate increases this year, O’Toole said that makes shopping and comparing rate increases even more important, as many people have the opportunity to benefit from offsetting costs with tax credits.

“It is just so important for consumers to kind of take the reins on this and spend the time and make smart choices,” she said.

As the sign up deadline nears, O’Toole urged people to really look into the plans before selecting one, which could be made easier with a little help. She encouraged people to work with MNsure experts like Chuck Moline and his staff at AdvisorNet Financial, one of about 20 certified MNsure broker enrollment centers around the state.

MNsure announced Monday that more than 70 percent of the customers buying private insurance so far this month have received federal subsidies.

That’s up from roughly 50 percent last year. The exchange is pitching those subsidies as a major selling point in a year when health insurance premiums are spiking. O’Toole says the subsidies can offset or even erase premium hikes that range as high as 40-plus percent.

That’s one reason O’Toole has encouraged people to shop around and spend time seeing what’s available and what isn’t with the plans.

“We do not want Minnesotans to leave money on the table,” she said. “We want them to make good choices about their networks.”

While options are limited to essentially Medica and Blue Cross Blue Shields in southeast Minnesota, O’Toole still said there’s a new comparison tool that allows people to look at plans to see what each plan offers. But, she said, the most important part may be connecting with someone like Moline.

Moline told the story of one woman who picked a plan simply based on price, but because of the way the plan was set up, it essentially fired Mayo as her health provider, which she learned the hard way. After her husband had a medical issue that incurred thousands in medical bills, she found out the insurance plan she’d selected didn’t work with Mayo.

She worked with Moline, who worked with the provider to get that one incident handled as if she’d selected the right plan.

“It’s a good idea, again, whether it’s us or somebody else, you sit down somebody and make sure you are in fact getting the right plan,” Moline said.

In that woman’s case, Moline said plans with a lower cost premiums limited the available care, which O’Toole said highlights importance of knowing more than just the premium costs. It’s about knowing what’s available with each program and getting help when needed.

“You might pay a little bit more to be in a broader network,” she said.

“Price is important, but buying the right plan is even more important,” Moline added.

Moving forward, O’Toole said they’re interested in forging more partnerships with trusted, established community organizations like the one with Moline as a way to tap into local markets.

“That’s our philosophy, to go to trusted community organizations that can serve these populations,” O’Toole said.

An army to help

Austin Area Chamber of Commerce Director Sandy Forstner questioned why there are so few certified MNsure broker centers around the sate — six last year and now 20 this year, including AdvisorNet Financial.

When MNsure was getting started, O’Toole noted such partnerships weren’t on their radar as they were getting the program up and running. In the early stages, the program came under criticism for long wait times and issues with its online exchange. Now that those bugs are worked out, MNsure leaders are focusing on the benefits of community partnerships.

“We literally have an army in every corner of the state ready to help,” she said.

O’Toole noted they have other partners around the state, like certified brokers, navigators and others. Broker enrollment centers like Moline are the top tier, MNsure Broker Coordinator Bob Davy noted.

Last year, Davy said six brokers enrolled 22 to 25 percent of all broker enrolled consumers last year, while they had more than 1,000 other agents statewide. They expect that percentage to be even higher this year.

O’Toole said it’s vital to partner with people like Moline across the state, so trusted community partners can help lead the way.

“[Moline has] done business here for decades,” she said. “The community knows and trusts him, so it’s a good place to get help.”

Davy said while the agents are there to help people pick a plan, he cautioned people are not paying extra for going to an agent.

“The agent is there to be their eyes and ears of the information they bring in, to support them if anything goes wrong, and give them the advice they truly need to make the right decision,” Davy said.

They also cautioned about MNsure’s heightened penalties for people who don’t seek insurance. The penalty for not enrolling either through means like MNsure, an employer, MinnesotaCare or Medicaid is $695 per adult or 2.5 percent of a person’s income — whichever is greater. That, Moline and O’Toole noted, can be significant for people, especially with the percentage added in.

“We’d rather have people get something for that money and get insurance versus just pay a penalty,” she said.

Moving forward

Since the Affordable Care Act passed, O’Toole said the uninsured rate has dropped dramatically. As of May 2014, 95 percent of Minnesotans have health coverage — the highest percentage in state history. She said the state should be proud with the rate of coverage.

“We have a historic low rate of uninsured in a very short amount of time,” she said.

Moline plans to open a remote enrollment center at Hy-Vee in Austin. In the first few weeks of this year’s enrollment, Moline says enrollments are up 50 to 60 percent over what they were a year ago.

“That means there’s a lot more people getting insurance,” he said.

O’Toole agreed the early enrollment is higher than last year, and she added the website is bug-free, the call center is fully staffed with a 90-second average wait time, and she said they have an “army of assisters” across the state in the form of people like Moline.

“We’re off to a really strong, smooth start,” she said. “Our system is stable. It’s performing really well.”

This is the third open enrollment period for MNsure, but O’Tooole is pleased with where the program is today.

“We’ve made a lot of progress in three years,” she said. “I’m really proud of the team.”

Moline expects there to be talk in the state Legislature of doing away with MNsure to join the federal exchange.

“If that’s the direction, do that cautiously,” Moline said. “Because Minnesota has always been a leader, a leader in health care, even before MNsure, Minnesota was delivering health care to about 92 percent of Minnesotans.”

“I think it’s extremely important to continue down the road with MNsure,” he added.

O’Toole said they’re aware of the possible discussions and a task force is preparing for it. She said it won’t be a seamless transition, as it would require quite a bit of cost and time.

“We have always done things a little differently here in Minnesota,” she said. “We’ve kind of led the way in terms of healthcare. I would propose that we want to continue that so we own our own destiny.”