• Assurant
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield
• PreferredOne

Click for more options

• UCare

• Supplemental Medigap Insurance
• Medicare Advantage Insurance
• Humana

Click for more options

• SecureHorizons by UnitedHealthcare
• Unicare
• Universal American
• WellCare

Introduction to The Minnesota Health Insurance Exchange Study

Health Insurance Exchange Study: Minnesota Department of Health

The 2007 Legislature required a report on the possibility of establishing a health insurance exchange that would provide individuals with greater access, choice, portability, and affordability of health insurance products.

Specifically, the report must evaluate, identify options, and present recommendations in the following areas:

• Whether a health insurance exchange would provide individuals with greater access, choice, portability, and affordability of health insurance coverage;
• The duties and powers of the exchange;
• The use of the exchange to receive and process employee premiums on a pre-tax basis through Section 125 plans;
• Eligibility criteria that enrollees and health plan companies must meet to participate in the exchange;
• The types of health plans to be offered through the exchange, and the extent to which these plans should be available for purchase only through the exchange;
• Loss ratio requirements for health plans offered through the exchange;
• The extent to which the operation of the exchange will lower the cost of health care coverage;
• Estimates of administrative costs of operating the exchange, and methods for funding these administrative costs; and
• Other topics relevant to the design and operation of the exchange if its establishment is recommended.

The idea of states' establishing health insurance exchanges (sometimes also called "connectors") to promote better functioning of health insurance markets has received a great deal of attention from policymakers in the past few years. In 2006, Massachusetts enacted a comprehensive set of health care reforms that included a requirement for individuals to obtain health insurance coverage, a requirement that employers establish "Section 125" plans to enable employees to pay for health insurance with pre-tax dollars, and the creation of a health insurance exchange to make it easier for individuals and employers to navigate the market. Since then, several other states - including Minnesota - have considered proposals to establish a health insurance exchange. In addition, a private industry association in Connecticut has operated a similar model since 1995.