MDH Releases Report on Health Plan Administrative Spending

August 7, 2025

On August 7, the Minnesota Department of Health’s Health Economics Program released its most recent report on health plan company administrative spending. 

The report presents administrative spending data for health plan companies that collected more than $3 million in total health premiums from Minnesota residents in 2022 and 2023. The report includes a summary of high-level trends and findings, as well as detailed tables for each eligible Minnesota group purchaser on 14 categories of administrative spending. 

Key findings include: 

• In 2023, health plan companies collectively spent $2.84 billion to offer, design, sell, and enable use of health insurance benefits for Minnesota residents. 

• This spending amounted to an average of $491 per insured Minnesotan in 2023. 

• Administrative spending by health plan companies in 2022 and 2023 continued its upward trend, both in absolute terms and on a per insured basis. 

• Administrative spending as a percent of total costs settled at the second (2022) and third (2023) highest level of spending over the past 10 years. 

Findings from this report represent a baseline for a broader study on data and estimates of system-wide administrative spending related to healthcare insurance and delivery. That study—for which results are expected in early 2026—aims to identify recommendations for reducing the volume of expenditures devoted to healthcare administration in Minnesota. View the Low-Value Care and Administrative Health Care Spending Studies: Update for the Minnesota Legislature for more information.   

The full report can be found here.