Executive Committee Weighs in on Exchange, BHP
Date: 08-02-2013
[MMA News Now, Feb. 8, 2013] At its Feb. 4 meeting, MMA’s executive committee gave its support for an “active purchaser” model for Minnesota’s health insurance exchange as well as a Basic Health Plan (BHP) as long as it is not paid for through the Health Care Access Fund, which is partially funded by the provider tax.
Legislators are currently debating whether Minnesota’s exchange should be an “active purchaser” model, which means it would have the authority to establish additional criteria and/or selectively contract with insurers or plans offered on the exchange, or a “clearinghouse” model, which means the exchange would include any and all insurance products that meet modest criteria set by the federal government.
In terms of the BHP, the ACA provides states with the option of offering individuals with incomes just above the new Medicaid eligibility limit (between 138 and 200 percent of poverty) a public program in the form of a BHP. Absent a state BHP, individuals with incomes between 138 and 200 percent of poverty would receive tax credits to subsidize the purchase of private insurance offered through the health insurance exchange.
The Dayton administration is currently petitioning the federal government to allow a revised version of MinnesotaCare to serve as Minnesota’s BHP. MinnesotaCare, in its proposed form, would cover Minnesotans between 138 and 275 percent of poverty.
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