Frequently Asked Questions

The Special Enrollment Period (SEP) is a period of time during which Minnesotans can enroll in a private health plan or change enrollment to another private plan if they experience a qualifying life event such as having a baby, getting married, moving to a new area, or losing existing health coverage.

Minnesota has hundreds of navigators and brokers who can assist people with health insurance enrollment. You may go to MNSure, Minnesota’s healthcare marketplace, to complete the application yourself, or you may contact a MNsure certified navigator such as Briva Health to help guide you through the application process.

If you live outside of Minnesota, you will need to check the Affordable Care Act site to see if your state has its own healthcare marketplace. If your state does not have its own health insurance marketplace, you can apply for health insurance here.

If you are already enrolled in health insurance, you do not have to do anything if you are satisfied with your plan. However, healthcare plan costs change over time and plan terms can change.

You may want to check to see if you are eligible for a plan that is more affordable or is a better fit for a change in your healthcare needs.

With both the MNSure and ACA marketplaces at your fingers, signing up for a healthcare plan on your own is as easy as opening up your browser. You may quickly notice, though, that it’s not quite so simple. Between the terminology, types of plans, plan levels, and coverage limitations, you’ll quickly find that there is a lot of information to sift through and make sense of.

Briva Health MNSure enrollment assistance can help you enroll on the best plan for your specific needs. We simplify the MNSure healthcare enrollment process and help ensure that you get the care you want at a price you can afford.

When we consult with you in-person or over-the-phone, we take into consideration your family size, income, and any special healthcare considerations when assisting you enroll on the best plan for your family and lifestyle.

Briva Health has helped people from all walks of life, backgrounds, and family status find affordable healthcare insurance in Minnesota. Our navigators are experts at the intricacies of the marketplace. We are versed in the current laws, exclusions, exemptions, and qualifying events in order to make health insurance enrollment as simple as possible.

Why seek MNSure enrollment assistance?
To help you enroll on the best plan for your specific needs

• To help ensure that you do not overpay for a healthcare plan
• To help you understand exactly what your plan includes and entails
• To help you find the tax credits and discounts for which you are eligible
• To explain healthcare terminology, types of plans, terms of coverage, and more
• To answer any questions you may have about enrollment, resources, accessibility, and more

Select Briva Health locations offer multilingual navigators who speak a combined 8 languages so that language is not a barrier between you and the healthcare you need.

Whether you are a busy professional, an entrepreneur, a student, or a family, you don’t always have the time to hunt and shop for healthcare. It can be tempting to just pick the cheapest or most expensive plan, but the truth is that these plans may not actually be a good fit for your needs. MNsure is the only place where Minnesotans can take advantage of tax credits, subsidies, and discounts.

Briva Health enrollment navigators are MNsure certified and have extensive experience in helping you understand the healthcare marketplace and enroll you in the right plan.

In addition to in-person appointments, Briva Health offers over-the-phone enrollment assistance for Minnesotans needing to enroll or renew their coverage through MNsure. Our phone appointments provide the same quality service as in-office meetings, but on your time for your convenience.

Best of all, Briva Health is always available to answer any questions you may have, whether you want to know more about an unfamiliar term, need clarification about what your coverage plan offers, want an explanation about the differences between two plans, and more. We want you to feel confident about your healthcare options.

A Briva Health MNSure Navigator can…

• Explain various options, price packages, and benefits available through MNsure.
• Assist in determining eligibility for coverage and where you fit on the sliding scale of subsidies and tax credits.
• Explore any free or low-cost programs for which you may qualify.
  Provide referrals to alternative medical care coverage, when appropriate.
• Offer enrollment assistance to ensure that you sign up for the health care package that is the best fit for your family’s needs.
• Guide you through the appeals and exemptions process.
• Provide year-round assistance if you need help, have questions, or would like additional information.
• Provide multilingual enrollment services in English, Spanish, Somali, Arabic, and Swahili.

In order for us to help you apply through MNsure, you’ll need to provide some information about you and your household, including income, any health coverage you currently have, and some additional documentation. The list below includes all the items you will need to bring to your appointment with a Briva Health navigator.

• Social Security number for each person applying
• Date of birth for every member within the household (not just those applying)
• Driver’s license, Tribal ID or other government-issued ID
• For non-citizens, Green Card or other immigration documents
• Last year’s tax forms (1040EZ or page 1 of 1040) for each person applying
• The two most recent pay stubs for each person applying
• Documents for other sources of income (social security, unemployment, self-employment, etc.) for each person applying
• W2 form or Employer Tax ID Number (EIN) for each person applying
• Employer’s address and contact information for each person applying
• Information about any employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) available to each person applying. Have the employer fill out this form. (Read more about ESI.)
• If you currently have health insurance, know whether it meets minimum essential coverage (MEC) affordability standard. Have the employer fill out this form. (Read more about MEC.)

The Affordable Care Act application requirements include most of the same documents as MNSure. The full list of materials required for an ACA application can be found here.

Have questions or need help with the documents required for your appointment? Give us a call. We can help determine what documentation you need to bring.

When helping consumers with their MNsure application, the most common problem we encounter is with reporting income. Reporting income correctly is very important, as it is what determines your eligibility for health insurance. It can be confusing to know what kinds of income to report, and how your overall projected annual income (PAI) is calculated.

Therefore, we’ve constructed a guide that tells you what income you should report and how it will affect your eligibility through MNsure.

As a general rule of thumb, any income that is taxable needs to be included on your MNsure application. This includes:

• Adjusted gross income for self-employment
• Income from salary
• Tips from your job
• Wages before taxes from your job
• Any taxable social security
• Pensions/dividends
• Disability payments
• Unemployment
• Interest
• Lump sum income (inheritance, lottery winnings, severance payments, insurance settlements)

Income that does not need to be reported on the application includes:

• Supplemental security income
• Child support
• Worker’s compensation
• Veteran’s payment
• Public assistance
• Non-taxable social security

Yes, you will need to provide proof of income in order for the MNsure Navigators at Briva Health to help you complete the application.
We ask for this information to ensure that your application is done correctly, and that you are given the appropriate eligibility.
MNsure may also ask you to provide proof of income once you have submitted an application.

All income reported on the application should be gross, before any taxes have been taken out.
Acceptable forms for proof of income vary depending on your particular situation.
Below are a few common examples of appropriate documents based on your employment status.

If you are self-employed, acceptable documents include:

• Most current tax returns
• A statement of profit and losses

If you are a salaried employee, acceptable documents include:

• Most current tax returns
• A W2 form from your current job
• Paystubs

If you are an hourly employee, acceptable documents include:

• A month’s worth of paystubs
• A W2 from your current job

For other income types, such as social security, unemployment or pension, acceptable documents include:

• A statement of benefits from the issuing agency

Anytime you have a long-term change in income or job status, you need to report that to your agency office. Long-term changes include a permanent increase or decrease of hours or pay, loss of job, change in employee sponsored insurance, or transition to another job.

It is important to make these changes promptly, as they may affect your eligibility. If you are enrolled in Medical assistance, you will report your income changes to your county; if you are enrolled in MinnesotaCare, you will report your changes to MinnesotaCare; and if you are enrolled in Qualified Health Plan (QHP), you will report changes to MNsure.

If you have further questions, or need help reporting your income, please contact us at 855.566.7873.

Although household size and composition may seem straightforward, it can be difficult to determine who you need to include on your application for health insurance through MNsure.
Should you include your roommate, or your partner who lives with you? The list of possible household members goes on and on.
That’s why we’ve compiled a list below of who you should and should not include on your MNsure application!

Who Should be Included?

The short-answer to this question is anyone who lives with you, and also has some financial tie to you or any of your family members.

For the most part, MNsure determines your household eligibility from your tax situation.

So anyone who you file taxes with, or who you claim as a dependent on taxes should be included on your application.
However, there may be people who need to be included on the application that you do not file taxes with, such as a partner with whom you have children with.

To help make this a little more clear, we’ve included a list of those you should include on your application, regardless of whether they are seeking coverage, below:

• Yourself
• Your legal spouse
• Children under 19 that live with you
• Your unmarried partner, if you have children together
• Your child’s parent, if they claim any of your children as a dependent
• Any other tax dependents
• Anyone else under 21 who you take care of, or who lives with you

Who Should NOT be included?

Even if someone lives with you, they may not need to be included on the application with you if they have no financial ties to you or any of your family members.

For example, a partner that lives with you, but you are not married to, and do not file taxes with or have children with does not need to be included on your MNsure application.

Examples of other individuals who do not need to be included on your application are listed below:

• Your unmarried partner, whom you do not file taxes or have children with
• Your unmarried partner’s children, unless they are also your children or you claim them on taxes
• Your parents who live with you, unless you claim them as tax dependents
• Other adult relatives who file their own tax returns
• Children over 21, who you don’t claim as tax dependents, even if they live with you
• Unrelated adults who live with you (ie; roommates)

Please keep in mind that these are general guidelines to help you determine how to complete your MNsure application.

We understand that all households may not fit into one of these categories, and that’s why we are here to help!

If you need assistance filling out your MNsure application, please give us a call at 855.566.7873.

You can find the full list of MNSure enrollment eligibility criteria here.

• Minnesota residents over the age of 21
• People who live in-state, are actively seeking employment, and plan to make Minnesota their home
• Individuals under the age of 21 with a parent who lives in Minnesota
• Lawfully present immigrants
• Self-Employed individuals (Self Employed individuals also have the option of enrolling in the Affordable Care Act.)