Getting and keeping health insurance looks different for each person, so it's important to ask for help. Check out the Frequently Asked Questions below or Find a Health Insurance Helper to ask your question here.
By using this resource, you understand and agree that the information given is not intended nor implied to be, and will not be used as, a substitute for professional legal, tax, insurance or healthcare advice (but we’re happy to refer you to these professionals). Springboard for the Arts is not a provider, agent/broker, advisor or consultant of healthcare or health insurance.
Getting Insurance 101
- A group such as an employer, union or school.
- Health Insurance Company.
- Medicare (this is usually for adults age 65 and older).
- MNsure (MNsure.org).
To find someone to help you sign up for insurance, visit this page.
This depends. For Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare, you can sign up anytime! Otherwise, this typically happens towards the end of the year during a time called “Open Enrollment.” Though, if something in your life has changed (See question #15 below), you might be allowed to sign up no matter what time it is. If you’re allowed to apply outside of Open Enrollment, this is called a “Special Enrollment.”
To find out when you can get insurance, find a helper on this page.
Yes, and it’s free. For whom to contact, click here.
Sometimes. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s worth asking about. To find someone who can help, click here.
There are people who can help you understand. Click here to find someone to help. Also see the questions #13 - 17 on this page.
To find someone who can help you figure if you need to sign up and how, click here. If you do need to sign up, the application is on the Social Security Administration website.
Once you are signed up for Medicare, you have choices for additional coverage such as Prescription Drug Insurance (Part D). These plans are sold and run by health insurance companies and not through Medicare. Find someone to help here.
Applying for Insurance Using MNsure
Fill out an application found on MNsure.org or find someone to help for free here.
You visit MNsure.org and create a MNsure account by choosing a username and password and answering some questions.
Once you have an account, you’ll fill out and submit an application with information about your family (things like your mailing address and income).
Click here to find someone who can help. Typically, we see people only include income that they already know they’ll have and/or make a guess based on what’s happened in the past. If you include income that you’re not sure you’ll have, you might miss out on less expensive insurance that you should have qualified for. When your income changes from the estimate you gave, you must report it immediately.
Once you submit your application on MNsure, two things could happen: 1) You can click on a link to start shopping for health insurance right away OR 2) If you qualify for Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare, MNsure will send your application to those insurance programs to finish getting you signed up.
If you qualify for any free or discounted insurance, you’ll typically get a letter in the mail asking you to mail back things to prove you qualify. Some examples include proof of your income or citizenship/immigration status. If you do not get something in the mail within a week, contact MNsure to ask why.
To find someone to help you apply, visit this page.
Look on the letter that you got asking you for proof of your future income. Call them and ask for a "self employment form" or if you can send back a "self employment ledger" to document what you estimate your future income to be. We've seen this is an acceptable practice of proving your future income. Exercise caution in mailing any documentation (like a past federal income tax return) that doesn’t exactly match the amount you estimated you would earn when you filled out your MNsure application.
To find someone to help you apply, visit this page.
Staying Insured 101
- Keep an eye out for items in your mail with information about your insurance.
- If you get free or discounted insurance, send back any information that’s requested of you and send it by the due date. Also see Question #10 above.
- If you have to pay for your health insurance, pay your bill by its due date.
- Know when to re-apply (see Question #13, below).
- If you have questions, ask. Click here for whom to contact.
Usually, there’s only one time of year where you can switch your insurance unless something in your life has changed outside that time. See this page for who to contact for help understanding if and when you can switch your plan.
This depends. Contact someone to ask how and when to renew. Click here for who to contact.
Sometimes, if you do nothing, you’ll automatically be signed up for your insurance plan again. Sometimes, you’ll need to pick out and sign up for a new plan and cancel the other one. Sometimes, you’ll need to send back proof that you qualify for the insurance that you have.
As long as you don’t have any changes (see question #5 below), renewing usually happens once a year and depends on what insurance you have. For Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare, you’ll receive a notice in the mail explaining what you need to do. For group insurance, Medicare, and other insurance plans, health insurance usually runs January 1 – December 31. So, renewal usually happens in the fall during a time called “Open Enrollment” and is done in time for the start of the new, calendar year.
Staying Insured - Medical Assistance, MinnesotaCare, Tax Credit (MNsure)
- Marriage
- Separation or divorce
- Moving to a new city
- Any change in income/how much money your household makes
- A change in what group health insurance you can get (through a job, union, etc.)
- A pregnancy
- A new addition to your family
- Child turning 19
- Child no longer being claimed as a tax dependent
- Adult turning 65 years old
Focus more on how much money you’re on target to make for the year, and less on monthly changes. Pay attention to significant income changes-- such as a new grant or loss of a job-- and how monthly income changes add up over time. If you’re not sure if you need to report a change in income, always err on the safe side and talk to someone about it right away. See this page for who to contact.
What happens next depends on what insurance you have, and what kind of insurance you now qualify for. See this page for who to reach out to and ask what will happen next.
Usually, people lose their Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare insurance because of a change (see the previous question, #15). As long as you tell Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare about the change when it happens, you shouldn’t have to pay anything back and you’ll have a chance to switch to whatever insurance you do qualify for.
If you have questions about whether you still qualify for the insurance you have and what happens next, find a helper to ask on this page.
If your income is now more than you thought it’d be, there’s a chance you might have to pay back some or all of that tax credit. On the flip side, if your income is now lower than you thought it’d be, you might get a larger tax credit or be able to get free/discounted insurance through Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare.
If you have questions about whether you still qualify for the insurance you have and what happens next, find a helper to ask on this page.
