FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Jenni Bowring-McDonough
Media Relations Coordinator

Today, MNsure announced new TV and radio ads that tell the stories of Minnesotans who have used MNsure to find better, more affordable health care coverage. The ads highlight the affordability of MNsure plans and underscore the fact that MNsure offers the lowest premium rates in the country, with additional financial help available through tax credits. The ads are aimed at encouraging more Minnesotans to enroll in affordable, quality health coverage before the March 31 deadline. Nearly 95,000 Minnesotans have already selected health insurance through MNsure.

"These stories are not unique - they are among thousands of Minnesotans who have seen the value that MNsure offers, and taken advantage of it for the benefit of themselves, their families, and their businesses," said MNsure interim CEO Scott Leitz. "Nearly 95,000 Minnesotans have already enrolled in health insurance using MNsure and I encourage Minnesotans to look at how MNsure can help them save money on health insurance before the March 31 deadline."

Minnesotans profiled in the advertisements include:

• Mary DesCombaz, who discovered in February 2011 that she had a rare medical condition requiring surgery and regular monitoring. Her health coverage at the time was a high-premium, high-deductible plan, and co-pays added up quickly. Several months ago, Mary was told that her condition had recurred, and she faced another surgery and follow-up MRIs twice a year. Mary went to MNsure.org and enrolled in a plan that saves her family nearly $10,000 next year, covering 100 percent of office visits, testing, surgeries, hospital stays, prescriptions and more.
• Bill Shy, who had been denied coverage after losing his employer-provided health insurance. He found replacement coverage but was paying $560 a month for catastrophic coverage. He used MNsure with the help of a navigator, and he found a private policy for which he pays $49 a month. He has used coverage twice already.
• Mike and Becky Gonzalez-Campoy, who own a small business and used MNsure to find insurance plans. Rates for their employees are a fraction of what they paid before. Becky says it was easy to register and she got quick email responses to her questions.

MNsure offers the lowest premium rates in the country, and all plans sold through the MNsure marketplace offer the following provisions:

• They cover preventive care at no cost to consumers, including immunizations, cholesterol and cancer screenings;
• They cover important benefits, including doctor visits, hospitalizations, prescriptions, emergency room care, maternity care, preventive care and more;
• They cannot deny Minnesotans with pre-existing conditions; and
• They have no lifetime limits on coverage.

About the Ads

The ads are a break from the past use of spokes-legends Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox to offer a more personal and direct take on what the state health insurance exchange and related provisions in the Affordable Care Act have meant for Minnesotans. The new spots are online now on the MNsure YouTube channel.

The ad campaign runs from February 18 through March 24, and will appear on more than 60 television stations in communities across the state. Leitz says the advertisements demonstrate the biggest benefits and the true value to consumers of health care reform.