MNsure, Minnesota’s insurance exchange, released its October enrollment numbers today. Nearly 11,000 people have enrolled in coverage; over 9,000 have enrolled in Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare. This is consistent with enrollment data from other states indicating Medicaid enrollment that far exceeds enrollment in private health plans. It’s too early to draw conclusions from one month of enrollment data, but it will be interesting to see whether the trend persists. It could be that low-income people are more motivated to enroll in coverage and that these numbers will even out as the enrollment deadline approaches. It may also indicate that the Medicaid expansion is more critical than we first realized. The data also raises questions about increasing health care disparities between states. A low-income family in Minnesota will have much better access to health care than a low-income family in South Dakota.
