How to Sign Up

You should sign up for Medical Assistance (MA) at your county or tribal human services office if you:

• Are 65 years old or older
• Get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, or
• Have Medicare coverage.

If you are not in one of those situations, there are three ways to apply for health coverage:

• Online using MNsure, a one-stop shop where you can learn about your public and private coverage options.
• In person at your local county or tribal human services office.
• Filling out a paper application and faxing it in to 1-651-431-7750 or mailing it to the address listed on the form.

No matter how you apply, it is important to know that if you are not eligible for MA, you may be able to get MinnesotaCare or private insurance subsidized by the government.

How Your Application Is Reviewed for Eligibility

1. Your application will be reviewed to see if you qualify for income-based MA.
   1. If you do qualify, MNsure will let you know and you can sign up.
   2. If you do not qualify, your application will be reviewed to see if you might qualify for disability-based MA. If so, you will be contacted for additional information to complete your application. To learn more about this process, see DB101’s disability-based MA article.
2. If there is no way you can qualify for MA, MNsure will display your other options, which could be MinnesotaCare or a private insurance plan, depending on your situation. For more information about these, see DB101’s articles about MinnesotaCare and Buying Health Coverage on MNsure.

Staying on MA

Usually, once you are approved for Medical Assistance (MA), you will continue to get it for 12 months. If your income, immigration status, residency, or household size changes, update your information on MNsure or let your county or tribal human services office know. When you report your changes, the eligibility system will tell you whether you will continue getting MA or if you have new health coverage options. There should always be at least one health coverage option for your family.