FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ST. PAUL, Minn.—MNsure's Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) has enrolled 1,934 employees from 438 different small businesses in 2017 health coverage. Demand for coverage through SHOP has increased significantly from 2016. The number of participating SHOP employers has risen 65 percent so far this year, adding 172 more employers and covering 700 more employees—a 57 percent increase from 2016. These figures represent the second straight year of double-digit growth in MNsure SHOP enrollment.

In collaboration with health insurance companies Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota and Delta Dental, MNsure SHOP provides Minnesota’s small businesses with a variety of insurance options at different price points and benefits levels. More than 70% of small businesses enrolling in SHOP do so with the help of statewide MNsure-certified brokers.

“Providing health insurance is one of the widely acknowledged employer strategies for hiring and retaining quality employees in a highly competitive job market,” says MNsure CEO Allison O’Toole, “SHOP provides small employers with an opportunity to do the right thing for employees while serving their business’s bottom line.”

This milestone comes on the heels of MNsure’s announcement on Monday marking the first time the state health insurance marketplace has enrolled more than 100,000 Minnesotans into private health plan coverage.

Minnesota-based employers with 1-50 employees can enroll in SHOP at any time of the year. Find out more at mnsureshop.org. As of February 2016, 96 percent of Minnesotans have health coverage—the highest percentage in state history.