Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Health Coverage topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Budget targets end adult MinnesotaCare for undocumented immigrants while preserving children's coverage; reinsurance funding shifted
Summary
As part of the budget targets, leaders announced MinnesotaCare coverage for undocumented adults would end on Dec. 31, 2025, while coverage for undocumented children on MinnesotaCare would continue; the targets also shift reinsurance costs off the general fund and toward a combination of the Health Care Access Fund and insurance payers.
Leaders at Tuesday’s press conference said the budget targets include ending MinnesotaCare coverage for undocumented adults effective Dec. 31, 2025, while allowing MinnesotaCare coverage for undocumented children to continue.
Officials framed the decision as a fiscal compromise. Speakers said the state originally projected roughly 5,700 undocumented adults would enroll in the program after January 1, but by April 24 that number had risen to more than 20,000, a growth they described as fiscally unsustainable for the state general fund.
Reinsurance and market changes: leaders also said the agreement changes how the state funds premium reinsurance for the individual market. Under the targets, the Health Care Access Fund would pay for two additional years of reinsurance and, thereafter, health insurance plans would fund reinsurance with an associated tax credit for those payments. Officials said the precise implementation details and effective dates for the tax credit were not specified at the press event.
Why it matters: health advocates and some lawmakers at the event described the issue as “visceral” and said the decision could substantially affect people who had received care under MinnesotaCare, including life‑saving treatments. Leaders said the decision to end adult coverage was a compromise made to preserve broader state services and to keep the state budget balanced in the near term.
Caveats and further action: officials said the move affects only state‑funded MinnesotaCare coverage as described in the targets, and they repeatedly noted that the targets now move to committees and conference negotiators to convert the targets into statutory language. They also said that individuals who are undocumented may still seek care in the private market but that private coverage may not be equivalent to MinnesotaCare benefits.
What leaders said: the governor acknowledged the moral concerns raised by religious leaders and health‑care providers, saying the decision was not made lightly. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy and House leaders described the policy as part of a larger compromise to fund state government and reduce out‑year pressures.
