Minnesota Reinsurance Plan Could Cost State Federal Funds

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota should get federal approval for a new program to control health insurance premiums but may lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.

That's according to a letter Gov. Mark Dayton sent to federal health officials Tuesday and obtained by The Associated Press. Dayton says President Donald Trump's administration has said it would approve the state's new reinsurance program — but at a steep cost.

Dayton says the state could lose up to $369 million for MinnesotaCare, its program for nearly 100,000 working poor residents. The federal government has covered more than half of the program's $500 million-plus annual cost in recent years.

The letter doesn't say why Minnesota may lose funding. Officials at the Department of Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.