ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota's health insurance exchange has more to worry about than just politics.

Data released Wednesday from the latest round of open enrollment shows its enrollees are getting older. The share of residents 55 and older buying private insurance through MNsure jumped by 7 percent from 2015 to 2016 while the pool of younger enrollees shrank.

It mirrors preliminary data on the federal level. That trend could pose problems for health care marketplaces because signing up younger, healthier residents is critical to keeping costs down.

Chief executive Allison O'Toole says the aging of MNsure customers is on her mind. She says the exchange may look to partner with different organizations next year in hopes of wooing younger residents to buy insurance through the exchange.

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