FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Shane Delaney
Acting Director of Marketing and Communications
shane.m.delaney@state.mn.us
651-539-1365

ST. PAUL, Minn.-MNsure announced today it is offering a permanent special enrollment period for Minnesotans who are victims of domestic abuse or spousal abandonment. MNsure's decision to offer this special enrollment period follows an announcement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of a permanent special enrollment period available through the federally facilitated marketplace for the same population.

"Safe and convenient access to services is critical for victims of domestic abuse," interim CEO Allison O'Toole said. "As a former prosecutor, I know that thinking about how to maintain health insurance coverage is probably the last thing on a domestic abuse victim's mind, however, we know our navigator, broker and county partners in the field will be able to relay this new information to victims, giving them one more tool to get out from a bad situation."

"These victims of domestic abuse and abandonment are suffering greatly at the hands of their abusers or those who abandoned them," Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said. "MNsure's program to give victims special enrollment treatment is humane and totally justified. We at the county attorney's office will have our nationally recognized Domestic Abuse Service Center advocates do everything possible to ensure the victims apply and obtain the health insurance they need."

Minnesotans eligible for this special enrollment period include:

• Any member of a household who is a victim of domestic abuse
• Unmarried and dependent victims within the household
• Victims of spousal abandonment and their dependents

Consumers must complete an application and contact MNsure in order to determine whether they qualify for this special enrollment period. Consumers who qualify will have 60 days from the date of being determined eligible to select a qualified health plan and complete enrollment.

The 2016 open enrollment period is scheduled to begin November 1, 2015, and end on January 31, 2016. 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.