by Elizabeth Baier, Minnesota Public Radio

October 28, 2013

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ROCHESTER, Minn. When insurance companies decide where to sell health plans, they look closely at what it will cost them. And in Rochester, health care is more expensive than anywhere else in Minnesota because the Mayo Clinic sets the region's prices.

That's the reality facing southeast Minnesota. Despite the federal Affordable Care Act and the new MNsure health coverage marketplace, Rochester stands as the one part of the state where prices are high and options are few.

Live here and you get Mayo's high quality care. But if you don't qualify for subsidies, and you have to pay for insurance out-of-pocket, you pay the price.

A week after MNsure launched its online marketplace, Rochester resident Sandra Toogood checked her MNsure insurance options and found just one -- a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan that would cost her more than she currently pays. She earns enough that she doesn't quality for a federal tax subsidy.

The lack of coverage options on MNsure could deter many Rochester residents from obtaining coverage, she said.

"I don't know anyone that can pay more than one of their paychecks to be able to afford health care insurance," said Toogood, an archivist at the History Center of Olmsted County who pays $350 per month for health insurance for herself and 18-year-old daughter.

The unsubsidized insurance option on MNsure for a 55-year-old like Toogood living in Rochester is $594 a month for a mid-level plan. In the Twin Cities, a comparable plan would cost as little as $268.

Read more here:

In Rochester, squeezed by health care costs