Was health reform successful in Minnesota? If the metric of interest is reducing the number of uninsured, the answer is certainly yes. A State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) report finds:
The number of uninsured in Minnesota fell from 445,000 (8.2 percent of the population) to about 264,500 (4.9 percent of the population).
How was this figure achieved? Were people buying into the health insurance exchanges? Not entirely.
Coverage in the private health insurance market also increased. Te total number of Minnesotans with private group coverage (primarily employer-sponsored coverage) was relatively stable with a decline of about 6,000 (a 0.2 percent change); growth in self-insured plans was balanced by a decline in fully-insured coverage. The nongroup market grew by almost 36,000 and included gainsboth inside and outside of MNsure
So how did the previously uninsured gain access to health insurance in Minnesota. The answer is, the government.
Tis increase in health insurance coverage was primarily driven by an increase in the number of Minnesotans enrolled in state health insurance programs, Medical Assistance (Minnesota’s Medicaid program) and MinnesotaCare. Enrollment increased by over 155,000 for these two programs combined
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