Obamacare Credited For Big Drop In Minnesota’s Uninsured Rate
This story is part of a partnership that includes MPR, NPR and Kaiser Health News. It can be republished for free. (details) The website malfunctioned. The exchange chief was fired. And many people had to sign up the old fashioned way: pen, paper, with a person. So, Minnesota’s launch of the Affordable Care Act was […]
Minnesota, Not Florida, Not Hawaii, Is Healthiest State For Seniors
“Minnesota Nice” might be the key to good health for seniors. America’s Health Rankings Senior Report rated Minnesota the healthiest state in the nation for adults aged 65 and over — beating out Hawaii. And that retiree and snowbird haven, Florida? It came in 28th. What could put Minnesota, which just weathered arguably the harshest winter […]
Minnesota’s MNsure Exchange Weighs What To Do Next
Officials with Minnesota’s troubled online insurance marketplace heard from the authors of a scathing independent report and began weighing the crucial question of what do do next. “Is it irreparably broke?” MNsure‘s chairman of the board Brian Beutner asked during the insurance marketplace’s board meeting on Thursday. Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, prepared the […]
After Exposure, Security Holes Sealed In Minnesota’s Health Exchange
A security flaw has been fixed on MNsure, Minnesota’s health insurance marketplace — one that had left users vulnerable to data interception by hackers. The fix follows an MPR story last week and a meeting Monday between forensic analyst Mark Lanterman and the state’s chief information security officer, Chris Buse. At the meeting, Lanterman explained how he discovered the […]
Minnesota Marketplace’s Latino Outreach Events Get Off To A Slow Start
An information session at a beauty salon in the heart of St. Paul’s Latino community helps clear up confusion but yields no enrollments so far.
Minn. Reports 3,700 Enrollments Underway, But A Rocky Road For Consumers
Officials from MNsure, the online health insurance marketplace in Minnesota, provided the first public glimpse into how many Minnesotans have not only created accounts on the new health insurance site, but also committed to choosing a plan and paying for coverage. MNsure officials say about 3,700 visitors to the site are in the enrollment process […]
Problems Continue For Some Users On Minnesota’s Health Insurance Exchange
Intermittent problems with MNsure’s online insurance marketplace persist, but officials are saying consumers will have an easier time this week.
Farzad Mostashari To Leave Federal Health IT Office
The charismatic head of health information technology at the Department of Health and Human Services will step down this fall. In an e-mail to staff, Dr. Farzad Mostashari didn’t divulge why he was departing after serving for two years in that position and four years at the agency. “It is difficult for me to announce that […]
Connecting Minnesota’s Latino Community To Health Care
One-in-eight Minnesota Latinos is uninsured. As the health law rolls out, community clinics in the state will be connecting Latinos to their new insurance options.
Your Smartphone Might Hold Key To Your Medical Records
Hospitals and clinics are slowly replacing paper files with electronic health records, but information often isn’t easily shared. Smartphones may be one way consumers can bridge the electronic gap.
Minnesota Hospital Merger Talks Derail
Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services says it will focus on finding a permanent CEO now that rural health care giant Sanford announced Wednesday that it felt “unwelcome” and was cutting off merger discussions with Fairview. Fairview is one of Minnesota’s largest health systems and owns the University of Minnesota’s main teaching hospital. Sanford runs clinics in […]
Despite Federal Delay, Minn. Vows To Have Small Business Options On New Health Exchange
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Workers at small businesses that buy health insurance on MNSURE — Minnesota’s new online marketplace — will have access to features that will be delayed in many other states. These marketplaces, also called exchanges, will offer health plans for individuals and small businesses, and they are being set up in each […]
Audit Finds Shortcomings In Minn. Verifications Of Income, Other Information
An audit released Tuesday shows Minnesota’s Department of Human Services has not been adequately verifying the eligibility of participants in some of its public assistance programs. Such verifications are a requirement of state and federal law, and the legislative auditor says his office first alerted the department to some of the problems more than a decade ago. […]
Minnesota Governor Signs Bill Creating Health Insurance Marketplace
Starting in October, more than a million Minnesotans, including 300,000 uninsured, are expected to shop and sign up for health plans using the exchange, named MNSURE.
Midnight Drama As Minnesota House Passes Exchange Bill
Landmark health insurance legislation is on its way to the Minnesota Senate after the House approved it shortly after midnight on Friday. The House passed a conference committee’s proposal to reconcile the differences in House and Senate bills enacting a Minnesota health insurance exchange. The ever-controversial exchange bill had a bumpy ride in the House, as […]
Minnesota Exchange Bill Moves Forward Without Abortion Restrictions
UPDATE, 7 a.m. March 15: The Minnesota House approved the conference committee bill in a dramatic midnight vote after hours of heated debate. Elizabeth Stawicki’s report on the vote will be posted shortly. ST. PAUL, MINN. — Abortion restrictions have been cut from a final version of Minnesota’s health insurance exchange bill that will impact how more […]
Feds Approve Minn. Exchange, Insurers Scramble To Develop Health Plans
The federal government’s conditional approval Thursday for Minnesota to operate a health insurance exchange means insurers have just a few months to develop new health plans.
Safety-Net Hospitals Brace For Cut To Federal Subsidies
Because more people are supposed to be insured, the health law trims funding that is used to defray the expenses of treating a large number of uninsured and poor patients.
In New Health Exchange, Human Element Of Customer Service Is Up For Debate
Health insurance exchanges are supposed to make it easy to compare plans side-by-side, but concerns persist that without human assistance, buying coverage in them could prove daunting.
Biz Groups Push For Answers On Minnesota Exchange
The head of the largest business group in Minnesota has a message for both Democrats and Republicans as the state attempts to plan a health insurance exchange: We need answers, fast.
