For consumers who do not qualify for tax credits and are weary about their health insurance premiums — rebates are coming!

After much debate regarding how to distribute relief, Governor Dayton and the legislature came to an agreement just ahead of the January 31 deadline to sign up for coverage.

The measure would provide a 25 percent discount to people who buy insurance on the individual market but do not receive federal subsidies. People in that group have seen their premiums rise by 50 percent or more this year. If the bill is signed this week, lawmakers said eligible insurance customers will likely start seeing the discounts on their bills by March or April. They’ll also get retroactive rebates for the first few months of the year.

The deal includes $15 million to help cover health insurance costs for people with any of a specific list of serious conditions who lose their coverage. It also makes a handful of other changes to health care laws, such as allowing for-profit health maintenance organizations (HMOs) to operate in Minnesota and setting up a health care cooperative for farmers.

“We hope this really sends the signal that if you’re in the individual market, we’re moving this as fast as we can to the governor’s desk,” said Sen. Michelle Benson, R-Ham Lake, a chief architect of the legislation. Source: StarTribune