Dayton appoints two to MNsure board of directors

Gov. Mark Dayton has appointed two new members to the seven-person board of directors at the state's MNsure health insurance exchange.

New board member Martha Eaves is a retired attorney who worked for 37 years with Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, a St. Paul-based group that provides free legal help to low-income residents. She helped establish a program to prevent homelessness in Ramsey County.

Eaves takes the seat formerly held by Thompson Aderinkomi, representing consumers eligible to buy individual insurance policies.

Edgardo Rodriguez will take the seat formerly held by Brian Beutner, representing the interests of small businesses. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Rodriguez served as a public accountant for Price Waterhouse in New York, and was president of the Venezuelan Food Division International Multifoods Corp. for more than 30 years.

He has also served on the board at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Chicano Latino Affairs Council.

"Martha Eaves and Edgardo Rodriguez will bring a broad array of experience and expertise to the MNsure board," Dayton said in a statement. "Their collective breadth of knowledge and commitment to the successful development and delivery of Minnesota's health care marketplace will serve the best interests of all Minnesotans."

Minnesota launched the MNsure exchange in 2013 to implement the federal Affordable Care Act. People use the online marketplace to buy individual insurance policies and obtain federal tax credits to discount premium costs.

MNsure is also the enrollment and eligibility system for the state's Medicaid and MinnesotaCare public health insurance programs. Between November and June, about 282,000 Minnesotans enrolled in public and private health insurance through MNsure.

Christopher Snowbeck • 612-673-4744

Twitter: @chrissnowbeck