MN marketplace opens late, but successfully

Minnesota is one of the states that has seen a strong implementation of its insurance marketplace, although the exchange opened late to allow residents to shop for insurance benefits. 

With the state health insurance exchanges being a significant aspect of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many had kept their eyes on the Oct. 1 rollout. According to The Associated Press, Minnesota's deployment of its marketplace was delayed for several hours on Oct. 1 to give regulators extra time to ensure it was connected to the federal system. The AP reported after officials felt MNsure was ready for open enrollment, it experienced a high volume of traffic as many state residents used the system to shop for health insurance. 

In fact, many were expecting Minnesota to be one of the more successful rollouts. In an op-ed piece for the StarTribune, Joe Atkins, an attorney in Minnesota, wrote the state's decision to run the marketplace itself resulted in the state offering plans with lower premiums than the average across the country. According to Atkins, Minnesota's average monthly premium is $192 across all age groups. Compared to Wisconsin's average of $361, Minnesota may have one of the strongest exchanges in the country.