What You Pay
Here we are going to look at the types of expenses you have to pay if you get an individual plan for yourself or your family through MNsure. Then, we’ll look at what factors can make those expenses higher or lower.
Expenses
When it comes to individual plans you will need to pay a monthly premium, plus additional fees each time you get a service.
The Monthly Premium
The monthly premium is a set amount of money you have to pay each month to be part of a plan, regardless of whether you use any health care that month.
Note: There is no income limit for getting subsidies that help pay individual coverage premiums. (Before 2021, the limit was 400% of FPG.) To get subsidies, you still must meet other eligibility rules and the premium amount you pay depends on your income and your plan.
Stephen is single and pays about $400 per month for his individual coverage plan
Additional Fees When You Get Care
Each time you get care, you may need to pay additional fees. Which of these fees you have to pay and how much you have to pay depend on your plan; some plans only have copayments, while others have copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles.
Copayments are a set amount you have to pay for a medical visit or service. The exact amount of the copayment varies depending on the service you get: medications, visits to specialists, lab tests, x-rays, emergency room visits, and other services can all have different copayment amounts.
Under Stephen’s plan, he has to pay $40 each time he visits a specialist, $20 for each prescription drug, and $30 for each lab test.
Coinsurance is a set percentage of the cost of a visit or service that you must pay.
Under Stephen’s plan, he has to pay 20% of the cost of any surgery. So, if his surgery costs $5,000, he has to pay $1,000 and his insurance covers the rest.
A deductible is a set amount of money that you pay out of your own pocket each year before the insurance company will begin to pay for certain services, including hospital care, emergency room visits, and brand-name prescription drugs. Once you have paid the deductible, you do not have to pay it again until the next calendar year.
If you are under 30, you can sign up for a catastrophic plan with a high deductible. You will have to pay the deductible before this type of plan will pay for most Essential Health Benefits, though you will be able to see your primary care provider up to 3 times and get preventive care without paying the deductible.
Tip: If you have to pay a deductible before your health plan will pay for your medications, shop around to see where you can get them cheaper. Some stores may have generic medications much cheaper than your usual pharmacy – as low as $5 or less for some medications.
Under Stephen’s plan, there is a $2,000 annual deductible before his plan will pay for hospital care. If he needs to stay in the hospital for several days to recover from his surgery, he will pay the first $2,000 of his stay. After he has paid that amount, he also has to pay 20% of the rest of the cost. If he goes back to the hospital later in the year, he will not have to pay the deductible again.
Maximum Out-of-Pocket Expenses
Each plan has a maximum amount you have to pay each year in fees for medical services (copayments, coinsurance, and deductible). This cap for your out-of-pocket expenses does not include the money you spend on your monthly premiums. The exact amount of your out-of-pocket maximum will depend on your plan and can range from $2,000 up to $9,450 for an individual or $18,900 for a family.
Stephen gets a plan through MNsure that:
- Has a $400 per month premium
- Requires $40 copayments for visits to his doctor and $20 copayments for generic medications
- Requires 20% coinsurance for hospital care and outpatient surgery.
- Has a $2,000 deductible.
- Has a $5,000 out-of-pocket maximum.
When Stephen has an automobile accident and goes to the emergency room, he has to pay his full $2,000 deductible, because he hadn’t yet paid it this year. The accident also forces him to have major surgery that costs $15,000. He’s already paid his annual deductible, so now he just has to pay his 20% coinsurance, which means he pays $3,000 for the operation and his insurance plan covers the rest. Between the $2,000 he paid for the emergency visit and the $3,000 he paid for the operation, he has spent his entire out-of-pocket maximum for the year.
Stephen has to stay in the hospital for 3 days as he recovers from his operation, and he also needs to take a number of medications to help the recovery and prevent infection. Usually he would have to pay 20% coinsurance for the hospital stay and a $20 copayment for each medication; but because he already spent his out-of-pocket maximum this year, he doesn’t have to pay anything – his insurance plan will cover it all. In fact, other than his $400 monthly premium, Stephen will not have to pay anything for any of his health care for the rest of the year.
What Affects How Much You Pay
The amount you pay for these expenses if you get an individual plan through MNsure depends on 6 main factors:
- The level of health plan you choose
- The type of plan you get
- Your family’s income
- Where you live
- Your age, and
- Whether you use tobacco.
Note: Health plans used to charge people more based on their gender or whether they had pre-existing conditions. That is no longer allowed. People can only be charged more based on the factors listed here.
Health Plan Levels
There are 4 different levels of plan available to most people:
- Platinum plans have the highest monthly premiums and the lowest fees when you get medical care.
- Gold plans have slightly lower premiums and slightly higher fees when you get medical care.
- Silver plans have lower premiums. The fees for medical services depend on your family’s income; if you make less than 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG), the fees may be as low as a gold or platinum plan.
- Bronze plans have the lowest monthly premiums and the highest fees when you get medical care.
You may see these plans listed with percentage ratings (60%, 70%, 73%, 80%, 87%, or 90%). The higher the percentage rating, the lower the fees you have to pay when you get medical care. Note: These percentage ratings do not reflect what percentage of your family's expenses your plan will pay for. They are based on averages for thousands of families and how much your plan actually ends up paying for your family could be much higher or much lower than what the percentage rating says, depending on the services your family needs.
Health Plan Types
There are 3 main types of private health plan available through MNsure:
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Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) have a specific network of health care providers, including doctors, hospitals, labs, and pharmacies. You choose a primary care provider (PCP) from their network. When you have a medical problem that isn’t an emergency, you may need to see your PCP first. If your PCP thinks you need to see a specialist, your PCP will write you a referral to see another doctor in the network. You can only get services outside your network in an emergency.
- The Bottom Line: HMOs have lower costs and less paperwork than PPOs, but you have fewer choices of health providers.
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Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) also have a network of doctors, but you can usually see any doctor in the network, including specialists, without a referral from a primary care provider (PCP). You can also see a doctor outside of the PPO network, but you will have to pay a higher portion of the bill.
- The Bottom Line: PPOs offer more physician choice and don’t require much paperwork if you stay in their network. They usually have a deductible and your premium and total out-of-pocket costs may be higher than in an HMO.
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Exclusive Provider Organizations (EPOs) are similar to HMOs. They have a specific network of health care providers, including doctors, hospitals, labs, and pharmacies, and you are not allowed to get services outside that network unless there is an emergency. However, their network of providers is usually smaller than an HMO’s. Unlike an HMO, you do not need to have a primary care provider (PCP).
- The Bottom Line: EPOs usually have limited physician choice like an HMO, but do not require a PCP referral in order to get specialist care. EPOs have the lowest premiums.
Some health plans on MNsure let you create Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) to set money aside to help you pay for certain approved medical expenses. For example, you could use the money in this account to pay for expenses like doctor’s visits or prescriptions that aren’t paid for by your insurance before you meet your deductible.
You decide how much money to put into the account, up to a certain limit. The big advantage of these is that they let you save the money tax-free. The higher the rate of taxes you pay on your earnings, the more they help you. If you don’t have a high tax rate, they probably aren’t going to help you much. Some of these plans have a trade-off that they have higher deductibles or copayments, so they could actually make health care more expensive for some people.
Your Family’s Income
Families that make less money and don’t have employers who provide affordable coverage may get government help paying for their health care:
- The government may help pay for your premium through tax credits. That means you would pay less each month. You might get this help no matter what metal your plan is. Note: There is no income limit for getting subsidies that help pay individual coverage premiums. (Before 2021, the limit was 400% of FPG.) To get subsidies, you still must meet other eligibility rules and the premium amount you pay depends on your income and your plan.
- If you make 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) or less and get a silver plan, the government also pays to reduce your copayments, co-insurance, deductible, and out-of-pocket maximum. That means you pay less each time you need medical services. If you get this help, your silver plan might actually be as good or better than many platinum or gold plans. If you do not get a silver plan, the government does not help you with these expenses.
| Your family size: | |
Income limits for your family: | |
| Income-based MA, adults (138% FPG) | |
| Income-based MA, children/pregnant women (280% FPG) | |
| MinnesotaCare (200% FPG) | |
| Subsidized private plans, reduced fees (250% FPG) | |
| Subsidized private plans (no income limit) | -- |
If your family's income is at or below the limit for a program, you may qualify if you meet other program rules.
Notes:
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Depending on your situation, you may qualify to have the government help pay for your individual health plan via tax credits. Here's how it works:
- When you sign up at MNsure, you give details about your family's situation. MNsure reviews that information instantly. If your family qualifies for government help to pay for individual coverage, MNsure tells you and lists insurance options for you.
- Your insurance options list the full cost of the monthly premium, how much of that premium the government will pay each month, and how much you will pay each month. The way the government helps pay the premium is by giving you a tax credit every month, so you don't have to think about it during the year. All you have to do is make sure you keep paying your part of the premium.
- In January or February, the government will send you a form listing how much your total health care tax credits were for the previous year. You will need this form at tax time, because it is possible the government paid more or less than it should have for your health coverage. If so, this will be sorted out when you file your taxes.
Where You Live
Different providers offer different plans in different parts of the state and the prices of these plans vary.
Your Age
The older you are, the higher your monthly premium. However, older people can only be charged a premium that is at most 3 times as high as a young person would be charged.
Whether You Use Tobacco
If you use tobacco, you will pay a premium that is up to 50% more than what non-tobacco users pay.
Things to Think About
When you use MNsure to get health coverage, you can control 2 of the things that affect how much you pay for your coverage: you choose the level of plan you want (platinum, gold, silver, or bronze) and what type of plan you want (HMO, PPO, or EPO).
Here are some questions to think about as you compare plans:
- Do you qualify for government help paying for your health coverage?
- How high a premium can you afford to pay each month?
- How often do you visit the doctor or need other medical services? Try and add up the copayments you would need to pay for those appointments each month. Can you afford those?
- Do you like your current doctors? Which types of health coverage do they accept? Are you willing to switch doctors to save money?
- Are you okay with having a primary care physician who refers you to specialists when you need them? Or do you prefer being able to set up appointments with specialists on your own?
- Are you comfortable with having a deductible for hospital care, outpatient surgery, and emergency room services?
Each family has a different situation, and the right answers for you will depend on your specific needs. For example, if you know you will have to go to the doctor a lot, you may want to make sure that you don’t have high copayments. Or, if you hardly ever go to the doctor, you may prefer to have a lower premium.
Try out MNsure's Shop and Compare tool to see how much you might have to pay each month for a silver level plan.
Sonia, Anthony, and their two little children are getting health coverage through MNsure. Sonia makes $66,000 per year (a little more than 200% of FPG for a family of four) at her job, but her employer doesn’t offer health coverage for its employees, so her family has to pay for an individual plan. Anthony is a stay-at-home dad.
Sonia is a little nervous since her family doesn’t make a lot of money, but she knows that there is supposed to be an affordable option for every family, so she decides to check out MNsure. MNsure asks her for some basic info, including where they live, how much income the family has, the age of each family member, and whether any of them uses tobacco (none does).
Once she’s answered these questions, MNsure displays a set of options for herself and her family, and she finds that she and her husband qualify for a government-subsidized silver-level plan, with a premium she can afford, low copayments, and no deductible. Her kids can get MA.
If you can no longer afford your plan
Usually, when you sign up for a plan through MNsure, you need to stay on the plan for the entire calendar year. So, if you are signed up for 2024, then you can’t leave that plan until 2025.
However, there are certain situations when you may be able to change plans mid-year:
- If your income changes and you gain or lose eligibility for government help paying for your coverage
- If you move
- In other life-changing circumstances, such as having a child or getting married
The first one is the key. If your income goes down and you can’t afford your plan anymore, you need to report your change in income to MNsure. You may qualify to get Medical Assistance (MA) or to have the government increase how much it pays for your current insurance via tax credits (meaning that you have to pay less).
If you are a member of an American Indian tribe recognized by the federal government and you earn less than 300% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines ($45,180 per year for an individual, $93,600 for a family of four), you will not pay any copayments or deductible for the health insurance plan you get through MNsure.
American Indians can also change health plans up to once a month.
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