Minnesota residents can expect to get a helping hand with health insurance coverage as state legislators passed 35-31 a bill that would make such policies affordable to those in small towns and living on farms.
Grand Forks Herald reported that the new law aims to help rural folk who tend to rely more on individual health insurance, many of whom skipped signing up for coverage this year because the cost was beyond them.
The situation is such that some parents in the state have kept their children from school sports programs because they cannot afford insurance coverage, according to the comments of Senator Scott Dibble, quoted by the
Herald.
Among others, the measure will mandate the creation of agricultural cooperatives that will manage insurance pools aimed at bringing down the price of coverage to make it affordable for farmers.
Senator Michelle Benson, author of the bill, said in the report that Minnesota residents are “very comfortable” with the idea of participating in cooperatives.
The bill also allows for-profit carriers to sell insurance interstate in Minnesota, meaning they do not have to be based in the state to provide coverage for residents.
Congress is expected to take up a different version of the bill next week.
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