FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Jenni Bowring-McDonough
Media Relations Coordinator

ST. PAUL, Minn.-With five days of open enrollment under its belt, the MNsure marketplace has remained stable and consumers have successfully enrolled in comprehensive, affordable health insurance coverage. Meanwhile, the MNsure Contact Center has delivered top-notch customer service while fielding almost 5,400 calls Monday, the third most in the agency's history.

Although open enrollment is underway for private health insurance until February 15, Minnesotans who are eligible for MinnesotaCare or Medical Assistance can enroll year-round. Those consumers who are currently enrolled in one of these public programs and who are wondering when to re-enroll should wait to hear from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). DHS will contact them about next steps.

"The first few days of the new open enrollment period have been very successful, with more Minnesotans shopping for affordable health coverage. I am pleased that the consumer experience has dramatically improved," said MNsure CEO Scott Leitz. "As I have repeated in recent weeks, I am cautiously optimistic about this open enrollment period. The system has proven to be stable and we will continue to monitor very closely and address any issues that arise."

The MNsure Board of Directors today heard reports on the first days of the 2015 open enrollment period, including customer experience, call center metrics and enrollment totals, including:

Strong Enrollment
Since the 2015 open enrollment period began on Saturday, 1,516 consumers have enrolled in qualified health plans through the MNsure marketplace. By contrast, 406 consumers enrolled in qualified health plans during the first two weeks of the 2014 open enrollment period, meaning MNsure has enrolled four times more people in its first four days than it did last year in two weeks. Also, 765 have enrolled in MinnesotaCare and 2,431 have enrolled in Medical Assistance. MNsure is the only place for Minnesotans to find out if they are eligible for financial assistance such as tax credits, and low-cost or no-cost coverage.

Responsive Contact Center
The MNsure Contact Center has been fielding thousands of calls, matching or exceeding the call volume seen in December 2013 while keeping wait times low, due to increased staffing and sharp focus on an improved customer experience. On Tuesday, the Contact Center received 5,317 calls with an average wait time of about five minutes. Calls focused primarily on how to apply for coverage, password resets and status questions. The MNsure Contact Center is open extended hours through open enrollment. Minnesotans can call the MNsure Contact Center at 1-855-366-7873 Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., and Saturday - Sunday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Enhanced Consumer Assistance
MNsure launched "Financial Help Week" on Monday, the first of many theme weeks to come throughout open enrollment. Financial Help Week includes messages about the assistance available, as well as new tools to easily check financial help eligibility.

Newly redesigned to make finding a nearby enrollment event easier, MNsure's online events calendar went live on Tuesday. The calendar will be updated frequently and offers consumers the opportunity to locate enrollment help in their communities. The online calendar is easily accessible via the MNsure.org homepage.

Free, in-person assistance is available for Minnesotans who have questions about MNsure or who need help with enrollment. Certified navigators and brokers are available throughout the state and can be found on /help/find-assister/index.jspMNsure's online assister directory.

Open enrollment for 2015 coverage began November 15, 2014, and ends February 15, 2015. Minnesotans eligible for Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare can enroll year-round. As of May 2014, 95 percent of Minnesotans have health coverage - the highest percentage in state history.