Health exchange enrollment passes 181K

The operators of Minnesota's health insurance exchange say enrollment has risen to about 181,000 people as they continue to process applications that were started before the March 31 enrollment deadline.

MNsure is working through a backlog of some 36,000 insurance applications from people who started but could not complete the process by the close of open enrollment.

The agency says that, so far, 47,697 Minnesotans have enrolled in a commercial health plan; the rest are in MinnesotaCare (37,050) and Medical Assistance (96,610), governement-sponsored coverage. "Open enrollment for commercial health insurance ended on March 31, yet we continue to see hundreds of people enrolling in public programs through MNsure every day," said interim CEO Scott Leitz. "If you tried to enroll but did not complete the process before March 31, we will be reaching out to you soon to complete the process."

Minnesotans who did not start or complete the enrollment process by the end of March may be subject to a tax penalty. And people with too much income to qualify for MinnesotaCare or Medical Assistance can not enroll in health coverage until the start of the 2015 open enrollment period in November.