Sharp Reduction Of Uninsured In Minnesota

Although controversial in many parts of the country, the Affordable Care Act has been a boon in Minnesota, as the federal reform law helped reduce the number of uninsured by more than 40%.

A new study by State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) at the University of Minnesota concluded that the number of uninsured statewide dropped by 40.6% between September of last year and the start of last month.

That means more than 180,000 Minnesotans received insurance coverage during that time period (although 264,500 remain uninsured). The statewide uninsured rate dropped from 8.2 percent – about half the national rate prior to the implementation of the ACA. It dropped to 4.9% by the time the open enrollment period closed.

“Our findings are consistent with reports of early national impacts of the ACA showing a decline in the number of uninsured and also with the experience of Massachusetts, which implemented similar reforms in 2007,” said Julie Sonier, deputy director of SHADAC and lead author on the report. “We know that the ACA’s impacts will vary by state, and encourage other states to examine their own shifts in health insurance coverage to see who’s gaining coverage and what lessons they can take away for the fall open enrollment period.”

Altogether, 30,000 residents obtained private coverage – despite operational problems with the MNSure insurance exchange – while another 155,000 enrolled in Medicaid as a result of the expansion of eligibility.

“Despite the many challenges in the implementation of health reform, these early findings show that the effort is indeed paying off for the citizens of Minnesota,” said Lynn Blewett, director of SHADAC, and professor in the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health. “It is especially encouraging to see growth in private coverage as well as public coverage.”

SHADAC used data from a variety of sources, including private health plans, MNsure, the Minnesota Department of Human Services, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Minnesota Health Access Survey, to compile the study. It was funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

In future studies, researchers will try and delve into why nearly 5% of Minnesota's population remains without healthcare coverage.

“That’s something we need more research in — who are we still missing?” state Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson told Kaiser Health News. “That’s going to be an important thing to find out the future because we need to continue to target our outreach effort.”