The CEO of Minnesota’s health insurance exchange is traveling around the state to promote the importance of seeking help and being educated as people pick plans.

Though it’s MNsure’s down season, CEO Allison O’Toole stopped in Austin last week to talk with Chuck Moline and his staff at AdvisorNet Financial, and she promoted the work AdvisorNet and other broker enrollment centers have accomplished.

“Consumers are getting help,” O’Toole said. “The philosophy that we are partnering with trusted community partners makes a huge difference all over the state.”

MNsure has more than a thousand brokers, but broker enrollment center’s represent MNsure’s top tier of helpers. Moline and AdvisorNet Financial were one of the first broker enrollment centers to come on board, and O’Toole praised Moline and his team for overcoming a few kinks that first year to continue helping residents pick the best health insurance plan.

MNsure featured about 18 enrollment centers this past year, but that’s expected to jump to about 21 or 22. MNsure evaluated those broker enrollment centers recently and found strong results, according to O’Toole.

“The return on investment is just sort of off the charts, it makes ton of sense not only from the consumer point of view, but from the business point of view,” O’Toole said.

Moline said MNsure’s website is easy to navigate, but the hard part is interpreting the choices, knowing what each means and picking the right one. Many people don’t understand the ins and outs of health insurance.

“That’s why they need help,” Moline said.

O’Toole said broker enrollment centers like Moline have made a big difference.

MNsure added a rate calculator and comparison tool to help give consumers a better idea of the costs. However, Moline noted that if people simply focus on price, they may nix Mayo Clinic from their plans unintentionally.

O’Toole noted buying health insurance is still a confusing process and transaction, so MNsure aims to make it easier for consumers, and leaders have still been working with their customer service and partner support.

The state is up to a 96 percent insured rate, up from 95 percent last fall and about 92 percent before MNsure.

“It’s been really successful,” O’Toole said.

The enrollment centers have seen increases too, as Moline said his office saw a 130 percent increase over previous years last year.

But MNsure is bracing again for likely increases in the fall, but O’Toole and Moline said that largely comes from providers, not MNsure.

“MNsure has absolutely zero to do with setting the insurance premiums for the state of Minnesota,” Moline said. “They have nothing to do with that. The insurance companies have everything to do with that.”

While it isn’t as high as projected increases in states like Texas, Moline has still heard that rates could jump around 15 percent in 2017, but that’s still a ways out.

But when premiums increase, so do tax credits, and Moline noted brokers can help people seek the credits.

Open enrollment goes from Nov. 1 through Jan. 21, 2017, but Moline cautioned people must enroll by Dec. 15 to be enrolled by the start of 2017.