Health exchange bill gets last Capitol vote

Published 11:04 am Monday, March 18, 2013

ST. PAUL — The bill creating a new way to obtain health insurance for more than a million Minnesotans is getting its last vote in the Legislature.

The state Senate is planning to take up health insurance exchange bill on Monday. It creates a new state office to oversee a website meant to let the uninsured and others shop for health coverage at competitive rates, a cornerstone of President Obama’s federal health care overhaul.

The House passed the bill Thursday, with Republicans uniformly opposed. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton says he will sign it. The current plan is for the exchange to open for enrollment on Oct. 1.

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Supporters project that 1.3 million people will get insurance coverage by 2016, including about 300,000 people who are currently uninsured.