The state's MNsure exchange steered more than 1,400 people toward public and private health insurance coverage on Monday, the first day of a special enrollment period designed for uninsured Minnesotans to get covered as COVID-19 spreads.
MNsure doesn't collect data on why people use the health insurance exchange, but the numbers could reflect a mix of motives ranging from those seeking new coverage after recently losing jobs to people concerned about health costs with the pandemic.
The sign-ups came during a week when Minnetonka-based UnitedHealthcare, the nation's largest health insurer, said it was responding to COVID-19 by launching a special enrollment period that could let some people get into coverage via employer health plans.
"Right now, under the circumstances, I think it is a big deal," said Roger Feldman, an emeritus professor of health policy at the University of Minnesota, referring to the United announcement as well as MNsure sign-ups due to COVID-19.
"The circumstances are that a lot of people who sign up are probably going to be high users of health care services," Feldman said, "and it won't take too many of them to use a lot of care."
Run by the state government, MNsure is an online marketplace where people who don't get coverage from an employer can buy health insurance or learn if they might qualify for state public programs.
On Monday, MNsure determined that 815 individuals seeking coverage likely qualify for Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare, state-subsidized health insurance for lower-income residents and those in poverty. Enrollment in the programs is open throughout the year and is not limited to the special enrollment period.
In addition, the state's health insurance exchange processed sign-ups by 653 individuals for private health plans sold by nonprofit health insurers. An unspecified number of those sign-ups stemmed from life events such as job losses that make individuals eligible for special enrollment at any time, a MNsure spokeswoman said.
