Gov. Mark Dayton told reporters the law has "many good features to it" but needs help from Congress to make coverage more affordable, according to a transcript provided by his office. | Getty Democratic governor: Obamacare 'no longer affordable' for many

Minnesota’s Democratic governor on Wednesday said Obamacare is "no longer affordable to increasing numbers of people" — the latest sign of Democrats' growing concern about the law's rising insurance costs.

Gov. Mark Dayton's criticism comes as his state faces massive rate hikes and shrinking competition in its Obamacare insurance marketplace next year. Dayton's comments also come almost a week after Donald Trump and Republicans seized on former president Bill Clinton's remarks lamenting Obamacare's affordability problems.


Dayton told reporters the law has "many good features to it" but needs help from Congress to make coverage more affordable, according to a transcript provided by his office. However, he said the law, which covers 20 million people, has "some serious blemishes and serious deficiencies."

Premiums for individual plans in Minnesota will increase on average by 50 percent to 67 percent next year. Several insurers have pulled out of the state's Obamacare marketplace since opening three years ago, when Minnesota boasted some of the lowest premiums in the country.

Minnesota officials said the large rate hikes were the result of high prescription drug costs and sicker-than- expected customers, among other factors. The rate hikes don't account for any monthly subsidies that low- and middle-income Obamacare customers may receive. About 250,000 Minnesotans, or 5 percent of the state's population, buy their own health insurance in the individual market.

Minnesota lawmakers have weighed fixes to blunt the impact of huge rate hikes. In addition to action at the state level, Dayton said Republican lawmakers in Washington must drop their opposition to the law.

"The governor wants to make it clear that the Republicans in Congress are to blame for their unwillingness to make improvements necessary to make the Affordable Care Act more successful," Dayton spokesman Sam Fettig said in an email to POLITICO.

Hillary Clinton has proposed making Obamacare more affordable through additional subsidies and other policies. Trump has vowed to repeal the law.



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