FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ST. PAUL, Minn.—With the start of open enrollment a little more than a month away, MNsure-certified assisters throughout Minnesota are preparing to make it a successful enrollment period. As part of those preparations, MNsure is hosting the second annual round of assemblies across the state to provide assisters with in-person training and an opportunity to develop connections with other assisters in their area.

"Our assisters are experts at helping consumers, and these assemblies are just one of the many ways we ensure our community-based partners have all the information they need for the upcoming open enrollment," said Christina Wessel, MNsure's senior director of partner & board relations. "In addition to the tax credits available through MNsure, assisters’ free in-person assistance is essential to helping Minnesotans take that critical step to ensure they have comprehensive health insurance coverage.”

MNsure has a /help/find-assister/index.jspstatewide network of expert assisters who provide free in-person help for Minnesotans looking to apply and enroll into health coverage. Consumers may work with a navigator or a broker. Navigators specialize in MinnesotaCare and Medical Assistance, while brokers can offer advice on selecting a private health plan. As a state-based exchange, MNsure is able to fund its navigators through its own budget, and is not subject to recent federal cuts to outreach activities.

MNsure's CEO, Nate Clark, was in attendance at assemblies last week to meet with assisters and thank them for their valuable work.

"Our assisters are part of our on-the-ground team, helping people in their community get enrolled in quality coverage," said Clark. "We are looking to build on our record-setting enrollment in 2018 and MNsure assisters will be a big part of that success by providing free assistance in communities across the state."

Assemblies are taking place across the state, including St. Cloud, Rochester, Bemidji, the Twin Cities, Duluth, Mankato, Marshall and Detroit Lakes.

MNsure's sixth /new-customers/enrollment-deadlines/open-enrollment/index.jspopen enrollment period runs November 1, 2018, to January 13, 2019, which is approximately a month longer than the federal open enrollment period. Over 480,000 Minnesotans have accessed coverage through MNsure during the 2018 plan year. More information can be found at mnsure.org.