Implode-o-Meter News - `Near Collapse' As Minnesota to Raise Obamacare Rates by More Than Half

"It's in an emergency situation -- we worked hard and avoided a collapse." [Commissioner] Rothman said in a telephone interview. "It's a stopgap for 2017." On average, rates in the state will rise by about 60 percent, said Shane Delaney, a spokesman for MNSure, the state's marketplace for Obamacare plans. About 250,000 people, or 5 percent of the state's population, were covered under plans bought on the individual market, including plans bought on the Affordable Care Act markets as well as outside it.
``Most of the insurers in Minnesota's individual market also plan to limit enrollment, to avoid taking on too many customers from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, which is leaving the exchanges after financial losses, the state said. Taking on too many new customers could harm insurers' finances or overwhelm the doctors and hospitals that they contract with.
Jonathan Gold, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Minnesotans would still have affordable options for coverage next year. "Headline rate changes do not reflect what these consumers actually pay because tax credits reduce the cost of coverage below the sticker price," Gold said in a statement.
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`Near Collapse' As Minnesota to Raise Obamacare Rates by More Than Half