Minnesota Health Exchange Passes Last Capitol Vote

ST. PAUL (AP) - The Minnesota Senate has given final legislative approval to the bill creating Minnesota's new health insurance exchange, an online marketplace meant to give more than a million state residents a new way to get insurance.

The Senate voted 39 to 28 on Monday and sent the bill to Gov. Mark Dayton, who has vowed to sign it. It creates a new state office to oversee a website meant to let the uninsured and others shop for health coverage at competitive rates, a cornerstone of President Obama's federal health care overhaul.

The House passed the bill Thursday. No Republican lawmakers voted for the bill in either chamber.

The exchange is supposed to open for enrollment on Oct. 1. Supporters project that 1.3 million people will get insurance coverage by 2016, including about 300,000 who are now uninsured.