Here is Republicans' plan to help Minnesotans with expensive health insurance

Republicans have introduced their plan to help Minnesotans who face expensive health insurance premiums.

The bill includes $285 million in emergency aid for Minnesotans who face the rising rates. Both Democrats and Republicans have made it a priority to help out the Minnesotans facing premium increases of up to 67 percent, but they've been unable to come to an agreement.

The Republicans' plan

Here's how the rebates would break down in the GOP's plan:

For the first three months, anyone who bought health insurance on the individual market, but didn't qualify for other tax credits, would be eligible for a 25 percent rebate on their health insurance premiums. (That's about 125,000 Minnesotans.)

Starting in April, rebates would be scaled based on how much someone makes, going up to 800 percent of the federal poverty level (if you're an individual and make more than $95,040 or a family of four who makes $194,400, you wouldn't qualify for assistance any more).

The Republicans' plan also includes $15 million for insurance carriers to cover costs for continuing treatment, which would go to patients whose insurance plans are no longer available in 2017. They say this part of the bill would offer continuity of care for people who are currently in treatment, but have lost their doctors.

The $300 million would come from the state's reserve fund, aka the "rainy day fund."

How this compares to Dayton's plan

Gov. Mark Dayton proposed his own plan to help Minnesotans a few months ago, and re-announced it this week.

It would also give consumers a 25 percent rebate for all of 2017, but unlike the Republicans' plan, there wouldn't be a cap on rebates – no matter the income level.

(This is the same plan that the governor and Republican leaders fought over when they were making plans to meet for a special session, which never happened.)

MNsure reforms are also involved

The proposal also includes some initial reforms for MNsure, including allowing for-profit insurance companies to sell insurance on the individual market. GOP candidates throughout the election had promised to make fixes to the broken health insurance exchange, and this is the initial step, Republicans said Thursday.

The entire bill is expected to pass the Republican-controlled House by next week, the Star Tribune says.

After that, the bill will head to the Senate, where Republicans also have the majority, If it passes both chambers, Dayton would then choose to sign it, or veto it.