FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Shane Delaney
Director of Communications and Marketing

ST. PAUL, Minn.-The MNsure Board of Directors today announced the appointment of Allison O'Toole as chief executive officer. O'Toole has served as interim CEO since May.

"For the past six months, MNsure has been fortunate to have Allison O'Toole lead this organization," said Pete Benner, board chairman. "Her nearly two years with this organization allowed her to assume this position of interim CEO quickly, bringing a unique perspective, institutional knowledge and the experience needed to move us forward."

Benner continued, "Allison did not put her name forward to be considered for CEO, but it is the opinion of every member of this board that she is the best choice for CEO. We approached her very recently and asked her to reconsider. We are fortunate to announce that she has agreed to stay on at MNsure as our permanent CEO."

"We've had a successful past six months," said O'Toole. "We've introduced a new comparison tool for Minnesotans, we have made significant progress on our IT project plan, and earlier this month, we successfully launched our third open enrollment period. I was proud to lead the organization and this amazing team during those milestones."

O'Toole continued, "After recent conversations with the board and giving it fresh consideration, I realized my work at MNsure isn't done yet. I'm honored by the board's trust. I'm empowered by this incredible team and I'm looking forward to continuing to lead MNsure into the future."

Prior to being named CEO, O'Toole served as the deputy director for external affairs and oversaw MNsure's public-facing departments and helped lead MNsure's efforts for greater public accountability and transparency.

Over the past few weeks, members of the board had an opportunity to discuss the future of MNsure and the leadership needed to continue to move the organization forward.

"The board believes Mark Nyquist was and is an outstanding candidate, and the organization is lucky that someone with his background and experience became a finalist for the CEO position, said Benner, "but the board has unanimously decided to go in a different direction."

The 2016 open enrollment period began November 1, 2015, and will end on January 31, 2016. Small group employers and 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.