Frequently Asked Questions

Employers allow you to sign up for coverage during specific time periods. These periods may be called by different names, such as initial enrollment, open enrollment, or open season. You will have a chance to sign up during the initial enrollment period, and you will also have a chance to enroll later.

If an employer offers health coverage, there are a minimum number of hours an employee is required to work in a week to become and stay eligible for benefits. Employers also usually require employees to have worked for a certain amount of time before they become eligible for benefits.

The employer may pay all or part of the premium; you'll pay the rest of the premium, plus any copayments, co-insurance, and deductible.

Employers are supposed to offer plans that cost the employee, for the employee’s policy alone, less than 8.39% of the employee’s family income for the monthly premium. Also, that plan must either be at least at the bronze coverage level or meet the "minimum value" standard (which is about equivalent to a bronze-level plan) for copayment, co-insurance, and deductible expenses.

There is no limit to how much it may cost to add the employee’s family members to the plan. However, at small employers (50 or fewer employees), a family plan premium can only charge you for a maximum of three children under age 21. Any additional children under 21 can be included in the plan without the premium cost going up. The employer's Human Resources department or personnel staff can explain these benefit details.

Employers usually do not require re-enrollment in coverage. You will need to continue to work the minimum number of hours to stay eligible for benefits, called an active work requirement. During the annual open enrollment or open season you can change coverage plans.

Note: Employers may change coverage plans or coverage choices for you without your active participation. If your employer changes insurance companies, you will have to re-enroll.

Yes, if you are under 26, you can be covered under your parent's insurance plan. Employers who offer coverage to their employees must also offer it to their children under the age of 26.

Dependent children with disabilities can continue to be covered under their parent’s plan past age 25. To qualify as a dependent child, you must be dependent on your parents for support and your disability must limit your ability to support yourself through work.

Employers do not have to offer coverage to the spouses of employees.

You must meet the active work requirement, pay any portion of the premium you're responsible for, and follow the plan's rules. If you do those things, the coverage will generally last as long as you work for your employer, assuming that the employer continues to offer health coverage.

When coverage ends, you have different options:

• You can switch to the employer-sponsored coverage of your spouse, if your spouse has it.
• You can check out your public and private individual coverage options on MNsure.
• You can continue on the same policy you had from your employer through state or federal continuation coverage, such as COBRA. This option may be very expensive and should be viewed as a last resort.

If you could get affordable employer-sponsored coverage through your employer, you will not be able to sign up for MinnesotaCare nor will you be able to get government help through tax subsidies to pay for an individual plan on MNsure.

You will be able to apply for Medical Assistance (MA). If you qualify for MA, it may pay for the employer-sponsored coverage’s premium, copayments, and other expenses, if your employer-sponsored coverage is considered cost-effective.

You also will be able to buy an individual plan on MNsure, as long as you are willing to pay the full price of the premium on your own. It is possible that in some cases an individual plan on MNsure would be cheaper than getting coverage through your parent’s or spouse’s employer.

Affordable in this case means that your employer, your parent’s employer, or your spouse’s employer must offer coverage for you that would cost the employee, for the employee’s policy alone, less than 8.39% of your family’s income for the monthly premium. Also, that coverage must either be at least at the bronze coverage level or meet the "minimum value" standard (which is about equivalent to a bronze-level plan).

If the employee's spouse or children can also be covered, the plan is affordable for them if the premium for the entire family costs less than 8.39% of your family’s income. A plan could be affordable for the employee alone, but not affordable for the rest of your family.

If the plan offered by the employer does not meet these standards, you may qualify for MinnesotaCare or government help through tax subsidies to reduce the premium on an individual plan. Learn more about affordability rules for family members and how it affects eligibility for tax credits on MNsure.

Note: Before 2023, the spouse or children of an employee would not qualify for subsidies on MNsure if the employer offered coverage that was affordable for the employee's policy alone, even if the cost to add the rest of the family wasn't affordable. This was called the "family glitch."

Yes. If you have private health coverage, or have access to it, in many cases it makes sense to enroll in both private health coverage and public coverage. With private coverage, you may have a wider pool of doctors and other medical service providers to choose from than with public coverage. However, public coverage might pay for some services that many private plans don’t cover like transportation, private-duty nursing, and Personal Care Assistant (PCA) services.

Also, if the county or state decides that your private coverage is cost-effective, they may pay for the costs of your private coverage.

Yes. If the county or the state decides that your private coverage is cost-effective, MA will pay the premiums, copayments, and deductibles. You’ll get more comprehensive coverage and most likely pay less for your health coverage overall.

You should ask for a cost-effective evaluation at the same time you apply for MA. To learn more, speak with your local county or tribal human services office.

Employers in Minnesota can offer either fully insured or self-insured plans. With a fully insured plan, an employer purchases insurance for its employees through an insurance company and pays premiums to that company, and the insurance company is responsible for providing the costs of health care, as agreed upon in the policy. Fully insured plans are subject to federal and state regulation.

With a self-insured (or self-funded) plans, an employer sets aside its own funds to cover the costs of employee medical expenses directly, not through an insurance company. To the employee, a self-insured plan may seem to function much like a fully insured plan. However, self-insured plans are only subject to federal regulation, not state regulation, and so may not offer all of the benefits that a fully insured plan must offer.

It is risky not to have have coverage: you could have an accident at any time and health care is extremely expensive. By having health coverage, you can get health care when you need it.

There is no good excuse for not getting insurance. To find the right health coverage option for you, keep reading the articles in DB101’s Health Coverage section.

Note: It is very important to have health coverage, but starting in 2019 there is no tax penalty if you don't have coverage.