It's hard to see how the exit of PreferredOne last week could be played as a failure for MNsure.
After all, the MNsure state health insurance exchange is just another market. The low-price player wasn't making any money, and it decided to get out.
That's sort of the way markets are supposed to work.
In fact, what happened to PreferredOne was so predictable that had this not taken place on the politically red-hot MNsure exchange, the decision may not have even made news.
PreferredOne is not providing any explanation beyond a letter to MNsure from its CEO that said continuing to offer coverage through the exchange "is not sustainable."
After looking into the company's filings and talking to others in the market, that seems to be a fair assessment.
It's not MNsure that's really the problem, though. It's more what PreferredOne did to itself.
PreferredOne is a very well-regarded, relatively small health plan based in Golden Valley that's best known for insuring groups brought in by employers.