Dismantle of Minnesota Health Insurance Exchange Fails in Senate

Governance of Minnesota’s health insurance exchange could be in for a change, but MNsure won’t go away entirely.

The Democratic-led Minnesota Senate defeated GOP attempts to dismantle MNsure. Several MNsure-related amendments to a budget bill debated failed on party-line votes.

Republican Sen. Paul Gazelka says Democrats were “doubling down on this dead horse.” Democratic Sen. Tony Lourey says it’s premature to make radical revisions.

The underlying bill would make some changes to the insurance marketplace that had its share of kinks in its first two years. Most significantly, it would turn MNsure into a state agency instead of continuing to operate as mostly independent entity.

Majority House Republicans are pushing for more dramatic restructuring. The House-Senate differences must be worked out ahead of the Legislature’s adjournment in May.