MNsure new Coverage Enrollments lag due to Medicare Crunch

Just under 2,400 new Enrollees Reported

MINNEAPOLIS  – Sign-ups on Minnesota’s state-run health insurance exchange are lagging behind last year’s pace, and state officials think the unusually busy open enrollment period for Medicare health plans is to blame.

MNsure reports just under 2,400 new enrollees through the first two weeks of November. The Star Tribune reports that’s roughly half the 4,700 new sign-ups during the comparable period last year.

About 40 percent of all people who buy coverage through the exchange do so with help from insurance agents.

But MNsure CEO Nate Clark says those brokers have been tied up helping more than 300,000 Minnesotans who are currently covered by Medicare Cost plans and must find replacement coverage for next year.

He expects those brokers to turn their attention to MNsure clients toward the end of this month.