Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk (Star Tribune photo) (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Senate DFLers to ask for special session on health insurance rates
Senate DFLers want to act fast before the new higher premiums take effect in January.
October 20, 2016 at 12:18AM
Minnesota Senate DFLers on Thursday will ask Gov. Mark Dayton to call a special legislative session to deal with soaring premiums for participants in the state's health insurance exchange, MNsure.
Senate DFLers made the announcement late Wednesday, but did not outline what solutions they hope legislators would pass. Legislative leaders are hoping to make changes to drive down insurance costs before the new higher premiums go into effect in January.
House Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, has said a solution is needed urgently, but DFL Gov. Mark Dayton said a fix won't happen until after the Nov. 8 election.
The embattled MNsure exchange has become a key issue this election, as all 201 legislative seats are on the ballot and voters will settle control of the state House and Senate.
Daudt has stepped up his criticism of MNsure since the announcement about the higher premiums. Even Dayton has said the insurance though the Affordable Care Act is no longer affordable for many people.
In a Star Tribune op-ed published Wednesday, Dayton said that the soaring rates are the result of the insurance market, not MNsure.
"Those rate increases and enrollment caps were required by insurance companies to continue offering individual policies in Minnesota," he wrote. "They are NOT the fault of MNsure."
Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, will lead the news conference at 2 p.m at the Minnesota Senate Building.
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