Minnesota's health insurance exchange has more to worry about than just politics. Data released Wednesday from the latest round of open enrollment shows its enrollees are getting older.
A new state audit projects Minnesota spent at least $115 million in estimated overpayments in a five-month period last year for people who got incorrect eligibility determinations from the MNsure system.
MNsure says it's tracking well to meet registration projections for this open enrollment period. A fee on individual health plans helps fund Minnesota's health insurance exchange.
The state says about 64,000 people will be dropped from public health insurance in Minnesota, mainly for failing to submit necessary paperwork. The Department of Human Services says about 134,500 Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare case were up for renewal this month.
Minnesota's health insurance exchange will repay about $500,000 in federal grant money after using it to prepare unused office space for its call center and other staff.
Seventy percent of private insurance buyers so far on Minnesota's health insurance exchange have qualified for federal tax credits. Officials with MNsure released updated statistics Wednesday on insurance shopping as open enrollment nears a big deadline. People who want insurance in place by Jan. 1 have until Tuesday to sign up.
Minnesota's health insurance exchange is considering a sole finalist to become its fourth leader in three years. MNsure's board of directors on Wednesday named Mark Nyquist the lone candidate to take the chief executive job permanently.