Those shopping for Medicare Advantage plans, or through the MNSURE marketplace, will see increases between 14-22%. Expiring tax credits could add to the pain.
ST PAUL, Minn. — If you’re a Minnesota farmer, small business owner or anyone else who relies on the MNSURE marketplace because you can’t get health insurance through an employer, be warned.
“Health insurance rates for 2026 are going up, and the numbers are alarming,” said Grace Arnold, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
During a news conference at the Minnesota State Capitol Wednesday, which Arnold called a “pivotal public awareness moment,” the Department of Commerce announced the average rate increases that nearly 400,000 Minnesotans will encounter when shopping for healthcare in the weeks ahead.
According to the Department of Commerce, Individual Market rates are set to increase by an average of 22% for the 187,000 Minnesotans who rely on them.
Small Group Market rates are also set to increase by an average of 14% for another 202,000 Minnesotans.
“Middle-class Minnesotans are those that will be hit the hardest by these increases,” Arnold said.
Arnold says middle-class Minnesotans are also at risk of losing enhanced premium tax credits, which have recently helped bring premiums down by hundreds of dollars a month for nearly 90,000 Minnesotans.
Those credits are now set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress votes to renew them. An extension has had bipartisan support, but Democrats want it to be part of a continuing budget resolution, and Republican leaders have said they want to deal with it separately.
“Time is running out,” said Libby Cullum, CEO of MNSURE. “We’ve seen our uninsured rate in Minnesota drop over the last few years. I think in large part due to those tax credits. More people than ever before, more middle-class families can afford health insurance.
If they go away. You know, some folks are gonna have to make really, really tough decisions about whether or not they can afford that price increase.”
Gary Wertish, President of the Minnesota Farmers’ Union, says farmers are already facing a lot of tough decisions.
“It couldn’t come at a worse time,” Wertish said.
He says many grain farmers are already struggling with negative cash flow due to the loss of soybean exports to China, and now many are facing MNSURE rate increases paired with the loss of that key tax credit.
“A certain number of farmers are going to be faced with the decision, ‘Do I just drop my health insurance at all because I can’t afford it?'” Wertish said. “‘Do I do that so I can make my payments to the bank to avoid foreclosure?'”
While there’s still time to resolve the tax credits, Arnold says looming cuts to Medicaid are already being felt across all kinds of insurance markets.
“Insurance companies are pricing in that risk,” Arnold said. “They’re assuming that more people will lose coverage, especially younger, healthier Minnesotans, and that will leave behind an older and sicker risk pool, which drive costs up even farther.”
That includes the roughly 400,000 Minnesota seniors who rely on Medicare Advantage Plans. When this year’s Medicare Plan Finder Tool launched Wednesday, state experts were surprised to see that rates are set to increase 18%, while coverage options decrease.
“We did not expect premiums were gonna be going up this much,” said Kelli Jo Greiner, Medicare product manager for the Minnesota Board on Aging. “They are, and there are people that are not very happy about it, as you can imagine.”
While Greiner knew there would be a lot of people looking for a new plan after UCare announced that it would be eliminating its Medicare Advantage Plan statewide, she didn’t realize how many other providers would either follow suit or cut back their offerings.
“Helping people find a plan that they can afford and that their provider participates in is probably going to be more challenging this year than it has in past years,” she said.
Despite the discouraging news, if you’re shopping for a Medicare Advantage Plan or for a plan through MNSURE, state leaders say it’s more important than ever to compare plans and not give up.
“I just wanna make sure people don’t get scared from coming to shop and look at their options, they might have an option that still works for them,” Cullum said. “Don’t just hit repeat on what you’ve done in the past years, you might find a better option for your family next year.”
For those looking for help finding a Medicare Advantage Plan, visit Minnesota Aging Pathways or call them directly at 1-800-333-2433.
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