About 265,000 people in Minnesota didn’t have health insurance as of 2019, per data from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). That represents just under 5% of the state’s population. The nonprofit also looked at the uninsured rate again this year and found that of the people still without coverage, around 125,900 qualify for marketplace coverage.
Marketplace coverage is the kind of health insurance that meets Affordable Care Act (ACA) standards. The ACA, as a reminder, is the current healthcare law in the United States. Under that law, major medical health plans have to cover pre-existing conditions and 10 essential health benefits. They also come with a variety of consumer protections.
ACA plans also provide tax credits, aka subsidies, to people earning between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. This allows people with low to moderate incomes to save money on health insurance premiums.
In their analysis of the nation’s uninsured rate, KFF found that about 1% of the people without health insurance in Minnesota could get a bronze plan for free on the marketplace thanks to subsidies.
Minnesota has its own health insurance exchange. If you qualify for a premium subsidy, your best bet for coverage is to look for a plan on the state’s exchange at MNSure.org.
Kaiser Family Foundation also analyzed insurance premiums for Minnesota in 2021. They found that the average lowest cost plan in each category was $251 a month for bronze, $295 a month for silver and $362 for gold.
These amounts don’t include subsidies. Remember that if you qualify for a subsidy in Minnesota, you may save money on your health insurance premium with a plan from the state exchange.
Using our own marketplace data, we found that a 40-year-old living in St. Cloud with an income of $37,000 a year could find a bronze plan for $262.39 without subsidies.
Costs and coverage options depend on where you live. There are at least 6 companies selling marketplace plans in Minnesota. Among them are BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota, Medica and Quartz.
Sources
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Health Insurance Coverage of the Total Population”
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Marketplace Eligibility Among the Uninsured: Implications for a Broadened Enrollment Period and ACA Outreach” (January 27, 2021)
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Average Marketplace Premiums by Metal Tier, 2018-2021”
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Insurer Participation on the ACA Marketplaces, 2014-2021” (November 23, 2020)