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Minnesota residents buying health coverage outside employer-sponsored plans are heading toward a sharper financial squeeze in 2027, with insurers set to raise premiums across both individual and small group markets.

Final figures released by the Minnesota Department of Commerce show Minnesota health insurance rates rise by double digits for many consumers. About 203,000 people enrolled in individual plans will see average increases ranging from 9.9% to 21.1%, while roughly 184,000 people covered through small group plans face increases between 10.6% and 21.4%.

The new rates apply to coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2027. Open enrollment begins Nov. 1, 2026.

Premium Increases Set for 2027

Insurance companies determine the rates they plan to charge, but those numbers do not simply go unchecked.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce reviews insurers' filings to determine whether proposed increases are supported by evidence and meet state and federal requirements before final rates are approved.

The result is a market where the increases vary significantly depending on the insurer and type of coverage.

In the individual market, the average final rate increase for 2027 is 17.4%.

Reinsurance Program Cuts the Increase

Minnesota's Premium Security Plan, the state's reinsurance program, is helping soften the blow.

The Department of Commerce said the average individual-market increase would have reached 57.9% without the program.

Reinsurance effectively absorbs part of the financial pressure facing insurers, reducing the rate increases ultimately passed on to consumers.

Even with that intervention, however, premiums are still climbing substantially for many Minnesotans.

Insurers Show Wide Range of Increases

The final numbers reveal a considerable gap between insurers.

HealthPartners has the largest listed individual-market increase at 21.1%, while Quartz Health Plan MN's increase stands at 10%.

The small group market shows a similarly broad spread.

Blue Plus has the lowest listed increase at 10.6%, while UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company has the highest at 21.4%.

For businesses and households already balancing rising expenses, those differences could make the choice of insurer especially consequential during the upcoming enrollment period.

Minnesota Lawmaker Warns of Coverage Losses

The premium increases have also triggered criticism from state lawmakers.

Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, a Democrat representing St. Paul, described the increases as unsustainable and warned that higher premiums could push some Minnesotans to abandon health coverage.

Murphy said a decline in enrollment could create another problem: More people without insurance could mean additional uncompensated-care costs for hospitals and clinics, potentially increasing financial pressure across the broader health care system.

She attributed the worsening affordability to policies pursued by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans, arguing that those policies were moving the country toward fewer insured people and higher costs for those who remain covered.

Those statements reflect Murphy's political assessment of federal health care policy and are not findings issued by the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

Medicare Advantage and Medicaid Also Under Pressure

Murphy also pointed to separate changes affecting public and private health coverage in Minnesota.

She said 300,000 seniors were losing Medicare Advantage plans, while another 140,000 residents would lose Medicaid coverage next year.

According to Murphy, people forced to move from those programs into the private insurance market could encounter coverage options that are increasingly difficult to afford.

The combined pressures could leave some Minnesotans confronting higher premiums from several directions at once.

What Consumers Need to Know

The 2027 rates will take effect Jan. 1, with open enrollment beginning Nov. 1.

For the individual market alone, the Department of Commerce's final figures point to an average 17.4% increase affecting approximately 203,000 people.

While the Premium Security Plan has substantially reduced the increases insurers initially sought, the final figures show that double-digit premium growth remains widespread.

With rates varying sharply among insurers, Minnesotans shopping for coverage will enter open enrollment facing a market where the price tag can change dramatically depending on the plan and provider.