More than 23,000 people sought health insurance via MNsure during a special enrollment period that was designed for uninsured Minnesotans concerned about the widening COVID-19 pandemic.
The enrollment period, which ended Tuesday, coincided with rampant job losses across the state that likely pushed more people to seek coverage on their own. Depending on household income levels, individuals applying through MNsure are steered toward a state public program or private insurers.
Final numbers released Wednesday show the bulk of those applying during the special enrollment period were headed toward state-funded coverage. During open enrollment each of the last three years, a majority of people using MNsure were steered toward private health plans — a change that could be part of a broader shift from commercial health plans to government-funded health insurance.
"MNsure does not have an analysis on why there are more public program applicants than [private coverage] applicants," officials said in a statement to the Star Tribune. "This [special enrollment period] and the context within which we offered it is very unlike our regular [open enrollment periods], so we do not believe that we can draw any real comparisons between them."
Run by the state government, MNsure is an online marketplace where people who don't get coverage from an employer can buy private insurance or learn if they qualify for the state's Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare programs. Minnesota launched the exchange in late 2013 as part of the federal Affordable Care Act.
Numbers released Wednesday show that about 13,739 people who used MNsure during the special enrollment period likely qualify for a public program. Those applications must still be finalized.
In addition, roughly 9,500 people enrolled in private coverage. Of those, about 6,000 people took advantage of the special enrollment period for COVID-19; another 3,500 qualified for special enrollment by virtue of a "life event" such as lost employment.
The public programs are administered by the state's Department of Human Services, which expects to release a revised forecast in early May on whether COVID-19 might affect enrollments. Enrollment in the public programs typically grows during economic downturns, said Lynn Blewett, a health policy researcher at the University of Minnesota.
