Minnesota’s Uninsured Rate Remained Flat Early In The Pandemic, Report Says

By Rilyn Eischens, the Minnesota Reformer

February 2, 2021

Minnesota’s uninsured rate remained mostly unchanged through the first half of 2020, according to data released Tuesday by the Minnesota Department of Health.

The report is the first look at health insurance coverage rates in Minnesota during the pandemic. Health officials and providers had feared that tens of thousands of Minnesotans would lose coverage because of the economic downturn and widespread layoffs.

About 4.6% of Minnesotans — roughly 260,000 people — didn’t have insurance in the first half of 2020, about the same rate as in 2019.

The unchanged picture of the uninsured rate underscored the effectiveness of state and federal social safety net programs, which seem to have helped many of the newly unemployed through the crisis.

Minnesota’s uninsured rate in 2019 was among the lowest in the country and nearly half the national average of 9.2%

During the first half of the year, about 40,000 Minnesotans lost employer-provided health care coverage, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The losses were offset by enrollment gains in the individual market — which saw 13,000 more enrollees compared to 2019 — and programs like Medicaid and MinnesotaCare, in which enrollment increased by 46,000.

The Department of Health said in a statement that federal stimulus programs like the Paycheck Protection Program and the state’s efforts to keep Minnesotans enrolled helped people maintain their coverage.

“By keeping people enrolled, our public health programs kept thousands of people each month from falling – even if only temporarily – into the ranks of the uninsured,” Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead said in the statement. “It’s more important than ever that people have access to care.”

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