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August 09, 2013 at 09:41 AM
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The citizen board that’s directing Minnesota’s new, state-run health insurance exchange is working on a policy to root out their own possible conflicts of interest.
The board of directors of MNsure met Wednesday in St. Paul. That’s the new online marketplace that will help enact the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and is trying to help extend health insurance to about 300,000 Minnesotans who don’t currently have it. The exchange is supposed to start operating on Oct. 1.
Several members of the seven-member board have ties to the health care industry. They’re working on a policy that requires them not to use their positions to profit personally or to assist others in profiting at the expense of MNsure.
“If you think you have an interest, it’s your obligation to bring it up at that time,” said Mary Foarde, an attorney consulting with the board on its governance structure. “That’s the policy, that’s the intent.”
While board members will not be able to profit from their involvement with MNsure, it appears likely they’ll be able to get their own health insurance through it. Foarde told board member Thompson Aderinkomi, chief executive officer of a health care business, that it would likely not be a conflict for him to insure through MNsure.
