MNsure enrollment tops 136,000; State grants reprieve for late enrollment snags

Published 10:12 am Tuesday, March 25, 2014

ST. PAUL — Officials with Minnesota’s new health care exchange say they’ve exceeded their goal by enrolling over 136,700 Minnesotans in insurance plans with six days left in open enrollment.

MNsure says the exchange has surpassed its goal of enrolling 135,000 Minnesotans during its inaugural open enrollment period, which remains open through March 31. More than 36,000 Minnesotans have enrolled in private insurance plans through the exchange, while over 100,000 residents have enrolled in the public Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare programs.

MNsure chief Scott Leitz says in a statement that they’re thrilled, but not done yet. With six days left in open enrollment, he says, they want to make sure every Minnesotan has the ability to obtain health insurance coverage.

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The 11:59 p.m. Monday deadline does not apply to Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare.

On Monday, officials said Minnesotans who make a good faith effort to enroll for coverage through the state’s new health insurance exchange by the March 31 deadline will get a reprieve if they run into problems and cannot complete the process.

Leitz compared the situation to people who are still waiting in line when polls close on election day: They still get to vote. So those who are still “in line” when the enrollment deadline hits at 11:59 p.m. on March 31 will still be able to get insurance coverage and avoid the tax penalty, he told reporters on a conference call.

Consumers can fill out an “enrollment attempt” form on the MNsure website or call the exchange’s call center to establish that they made a good faith but unsuccessful effort to sign up, said Katie Burns, policy and plan management director. But the exchange will accept other documentation, too, including having opened an account within the MNsure system; paper applications submitted to a government agency, navigator or broker records; call center records; emails sent to MNsure; and documents filed in appeals.

MNsure officials will then work with consumers and the insurance companies to resolve the holdups, Burns said.

Leitz said he did not know how many people might take advantage of the reprieve, but said they’re expected to include procrastinators who have not tried to sign up yet, as well as people who have tried but have not been able to complete the process due to technical glitches or other snags. MNsure’s trouble-plagued website is “functioning well” now, he said. The number of people whose applications remain stuck in the system is “relatively small” and MNsure officials are actively working with them, he said.