Some Minnesotans to get insurance rebate

A small number of Minnesotans could receive a rebate as part of the federal health care law's new insurance regulations.

Those regulations require health insurers to spend between 80 and 85 percent of their premium dollars on actual health care. Administrative costs such as marketing and executive bonuses can't exceed 20 percent. If insurers spend too little on health care, they must provide a rebate to customers.

Most of the rebates for Minnesota will come from large group plans, said Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which compiled a state-by-state analysis.

"For people who get a rebate the average is $146 per enrollee, though because these are large groups that money will go to the employer plan and depends on how the plan's structured in terms of who will actually get the rebate between the employer and the employees," Levitt said.

In addition, about 10,000 Minnesotans who buy insurance on the individual market will get refunds of about $100, Levitt said.