Inflation Reduction Act Extends Savings On MinnesotaCare Premiums Through 2025

By Michelle Griffith, Minnesota Reformer

About 90,000 residents on MinnesotaCare — the public health insurance program for the working poor — will be able to continue forgoing premium payments or keep paying lower rates through 2025 due to the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by President Joe Biden, the Department of Human Services announced in a Tuesday news release.

MinnesotaCare, which includes health, dental vision and behavioral health services, is designed for Minnesotans who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to purchase other health insurance. The program is funded by a state tax on hospitals and health care providers, enrollee premiums and cost sharing. It served a bit more than 100,000 Minnesotans as of July 2021.

Federal COVID-19 relief dollars through the American Rescue Plan Act provided higher premium tax credits in 2021 and 2022, which lowered MinnesotaCare premiums.. The lower premiums were scheduled to end in January 2023 until Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act last month.

People on MinnesotaCare with incomes under 160% of the federal poverty level won’t have to pay premiums until January 2026, DHS said. People with incomes between 160% and 200% of the poverty level will pay reduced premiums.

“MinnesotaCare premium relief makes a big difference for many families,” Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead said in a statement. “Continuing the savings through 2025 results in more affordable health care coverage for Minnesotans who are facing financial struggles.”

The Inflation Reduction Act includes historic federal funding to combat climate change, a $35 monthly copay cap on insulin for Medicare patients and allocations to bolster the Internal Revenue Service.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell..