MINNESOTA
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
MINNESOTA
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
MINNESOTA
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
July 16, 2012
Minnesota
Takes Next Step in Health Insurance Exchange
Consumer-friendly
marketplace will give Minnesotans simple, affordable healthcare options
ST.
PAUL, MN – Today, Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman, Human Services
Commissioner Lucinda Jesson and Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger announced that
Minnesota has entered into a $41 million dollar contract with MAXIMUS, Inc.
(MMS) to design and develop the technical capabilities, including a consumer
friendly website, for Minnesota’s health insurance exchange and Medicaid
modernization.
“This
contract is a significant milestone in the design and development of a
Minnesota health insurance exchange,” said Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman.
“We can now move forward on developing the technology backbone of the exchange,
a user friendly tool that will help more than 1.2 million Minnesotans choose
the quality coverage they need at a price they can afford.”
Minnesota’s
health insurance exchange is planned to launch in October 2013. One in five
Minnesotans are expected to use the exchange as a new way to choose their
health coverage, compare policies, and help determine whether they are eligible
for public programs or federal tax credits.
· * Minnesota’s
health exchange is expected to save Minnesota families over a billion dollars
in health care costs annually
· *The
average Minnesota family buying insurance through the exchange will save $500
in health care costs
· *After
federal tax credits, individual consumers will see an average decrease in
premiums of more than 20% for insurance purchased through the exchange
· *By 2016,
roughly 300,000 currently uninsured Minnesotans will gain coverage through the
exchange. About 200,000 small business employers and employees will choose
their health insurance through the exchange. In addition, approximately 700,000
Minnesotans will enroll in Minnesota’s public health care programs through the
exchange
· *Small
employers will save up to 7.5% off of premium costs by using the exchange while
those with fewer than 25 employees eligible for tax credits will save even more
“Nearly
700,000 Minnesotans are expected to enroll in Medicaid coverage through the
exchange,” said Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson. “Modernizing the
state’s eligibility and enrollment system through the exchange is an important
reform that will simplify the process for hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans
while saving time and taxpayer dollars.”
Department
of Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger added, “An exchange will give all
Minnesotans access to high quality and affordable care and give us new
opportunities to address health disparities in our state.”
The
contract with MAXIMUS (MMS) covers the development of technology supporting
various functions that a health insurance exchange would need to perform. Those
functions include individual eligibility determination and enrollment, small
employer eligibility and enrollment, certification and display of health
benefit plan options and costs, navigator and agent/broker listing, display of
health care provider information, premium aggregation and payment, and account
administration.
The
contract also includes major technology improvements to Minnesota’s Medicaid
systems to provide streamlined eligibility determinations, enhance customer
service, allow for timely eligibility changes, and promote ongoing program
integrity. In addition, the new technology system will allow the Department of
Health to provide information on provider quality. Finally, the technology will
allow the Health and Commerce departments to fulfill their roles as the
certifier of Qualified Health Plans.
-30-
ATTACHMENTS
Review
this graphic for a general overview of Minnesota’s health insurance exchange
and how it will impact Minnesota families and businesses.
Review
this document for a basic understanding of how many people will be impacted by
Minnesota’s health insurance exchange, and how much it will help Minnesota
families and businesses save on premiums.
Copies
of all IT contract documents are available on the Minnesota Department of
Commerce website. Click on the “contracts” tab.
For
more information about funding for the IT contract, please review this
document.
Matt
Swenson
Director
of Communications
Minnesota
Department of Commerce
(O)
651.296.6485
(C)
763.464.0042
(F)
651.297.1959
Follow
us on Twitter @MNCommerce
Visit
our website at http://mn.gov/commerce
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment