St Paul (KMHL) – A bill that was introduced Monday by Senator Gary Dahms of Redwood Falls passed the full Senate . Senator Dahm’s bill would extend the state’s reinsurance program for another year which will ensure that insurance rates in the individual market will remain stable, and without any additional cost to the tax payers.
“We saw how destabilized the health insurance market could be back in 2016,” Dahms said, “Many counties had zero or only one provider on the individual market and premiums went up almost 50 percent. Our successful reinsurance program stabilized the market, brought in choices for consumers and has made insurance more affordable for small businesses and families.”
The governor’s proposed budget did not include reauthorizing the state’s successful reinsurance program, which could have resulted in destabilizing the individual health insurance market if the program expired.
