Dayton: MNsure Off to Good Start

  ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Gov. Mark Dayton says he's pleased with the performance of Minnesota's health insurance exchange so far but that it'll be at least a year before it can be judged a success or failure.

Dayton says Tuesday it's important to distinguish between efforts in Minnesota and those at the national level. President Barack Obama said a day earlier that he's angry about technical problems plaguing healthcare.gov, the federal government's consumer portal for uninsured people and others to buy health insurance.

Dayton says the first two weeks of operations at MNsure, Minnesota's consumer portal, have not been perfect but that he thinks it's performed "phenomenally well" considering the complexity and scope of the project.

Dayton says he was told that as of Monday, more than 18,000 people have created MNsure accounts.