Running Head: APPROACH OF MINNESOTA STATE IN ENACTMENT OF ACA 1

Affordable Care Act Approach in Minnesota State

Name:

Institutional Affiliation:
APPROACH OF MINNESOTA STATE IN ENACTMENT OF ACA 2

Affordable Care Act Approach in Minnesota State

Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly referred to as "Obamacare," is a health care law

enacted on 23rd March 2010, which holds that healthcare is a right and not a privilege. On the

28th of June 2012, the Affordable Care Act was upheld by the Supreme Court. The law has three

propositions providing affordable health care insurance to as many people as possible, expanding

the medical program to accommodate people who are low-income earners, and supporting

healthcare delivery methods as a way of reducing healthcare costs (Obama, 2016). Affordable

Care Act aims at providing insurance cover to all uninsured people using various techniques and

without further increasing the healthcare cost. In 2014, each state was given the liberty to

identify and implement its preferred approach to ensure that uninsured people obtain a health

insurance cover. Although all the people living in Minnesota do not have the health care

insurance cover, the approaches used in the enactment of the Affordable Care Act have reduced

the number of uncovered people in the state.

Minnesota state uses the online market place for health insurance. It either implements its

marketplace or uses the one established by the federal government. Every single marketplace has

the responsibility of according assistance to customers as well as supporting inventing unique

paths through which people can quickly buy health care insurance coverage. Minnesota greatly

benefited from federal government funding through the marketplace approach. The state received

amount to the tune of $ 155 million as a federal grant to support its strategy. Minnesota

developed an information technology to act as a backbone for the insurance exchange run by the

state, MNsure (Hest & Blewett, 2017). MNsure also helps small businesses in Minnesota to buy

insurance covers for their employees. Assistance providers to enrolment people weekly at
APPROACH OF MINNESOTA STATE IN ENACTMENT OF ACA 3

different places such as worship centers and town halls. The Consumer Assistance Program also

does online campaigns to sensitize individuals to take an insurance cover.

Minnesota's online approach to health insurance has reviewed the eligibility policy.

Through the eligibility adjustments, the number of people without an insurance cover in

Minnesota declined by 48.9 % that is from 440,000 to 225,000 between 2013 and 2016

(Feldman, Schowalter, Thissen, & Benson, 2016). According to (Feldman et al., 2016),

Minnesota state achieved this by expanding the state Medicaid programs and providing tax

credits for people in order to purchase insurance. The health program is aimed at helping

desperate people earning low income but cannot afford to pay for a private insurance cover. This

approach allows individuals to pay the insurance premium. Minnesota is among the 12 states that

employed the state-based health insurance exchange in 2017. According to Long, Rae, Claxton,

and Damico (2016), 12% of the people enrolled for the insurance cover were eligible for a

reduction in their cost-sharing responsibilities while 70% were eligible for premium tax credits.

Analysis carried out by Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that in Minnesota, the average

premiums increased by 55%, from $235 to $366 per month (Call et al., 2015). The analysis also

revealed that the average tax credit also increased by 481%, from $27 to $159 per month.

Strengths of Minnesota’s approach

Through the health insurance market place strategy, the number of people without a

health care insurance cover has dramatically reduced. Through the adjustments are done in

regards to the people eligible for Medicaid, the people below 138% of the federal poverty level

now have access to a private medical cover. The number of young people who can access cheap

and quality health care has increased through the enactment of the Affordable Care Act in

Minnesota.
APPROACH OF MINNESOTA STATE IN ENACTMENT OF ACA 4

Weaknesses of Minnesota’s approach

Although the majority of Minnesotans have an insurance cover, many of them do not pay

for the monthly fee. Defaulting payment will affect the health care service delivery to those who

faithfully pay for the cost. Minnesota used a considerable amount to implement the MNsure

online market strategy. This amount could have been used to finance other provisions of the

Affordable Care Act. Minnesota state pays part of the insurance premium for a good number of

people, and this is a heavy burden to the state.

Impacts of Minnesota’s approach to providers and consumers

The approach used by Minnesota has achieved the target set by it provides as it has

dramatically reduced the number of uninsured in the state. The increase in the number of people

with health care insurance cover has resulted in increased financing, and this has boosted service

delivery in healthcare centers. The approach has also been of great benefit to the people living in

Minnesota as they are able to access quality healthcare service at a subsidized cost.

In conclusion, the MNsure approach has enabled Minnesota to enact the Affordable Care

Act of 2010 successfully. This approach has helped many individuals living in Minnesota to

access an insurance cover. People with income below 138% of the Federal Poverty Level can

enroll for Medicaid programs while those above the poverty level receive a tax credit to enable

them to pay for a private cover.

APPROACH OF MINNESOTA STATE IN ENACTMENT OF ACA 5

References

Call, K. T., Lukanen, E., Spencer, D., Alarcón, G., Kemmick Pintor, J., Baines Simon, A., &

Gildemeister, S. (2015). Coverage gains after the Affordable Care Act among the

uninsured in Minnesota. American Journal of Public Health, 105(S5), S658-S664.

doi:10.2105/ajph.2015.302837

Feldman, R., Schowalter, J., Thissen, P., & Benson, M. (2016). The challenges in Minnesota's

insurance market: What can be done? Retrieved from

https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/194066/Challenges_in_MNs_Insura

nce_Market.wav?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Hest, R., & Blewett, L. (2017). Impact of the Affordable Care Act in Minnesota: Implications of

repeal. Retrieved from

https://www.shadac.org/sites/default/files/publications/Impact%20of%20the%20ACA%20

on%20Minnesota_forWEB.pdf

Long, M., Rae, M., Claxton, G., & Damico, A. (2016). Trends in employer-sponsored insurance

offer and coverage rates, 1999-2014. Washington: The Kaiser Family Foundation.

Obama, B. (2016). United States health care reform: Progress to date and next steps. JAMA,

316(5), 525-532. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.9797