If You Are Uninsured

The 2010 federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires you to purchase insurance coverage or face an increasing tax penalty that will rise with each year of the ACA’s implementation.

Low income Minnesotans without health insurance should contact the county in which you live to see if you are eligible for MinnesotaCare or Medical Assistance, the state’s health plans for low income Minnesotans. You can also enroll in MinnesotaCare and Medicaid via MNsure, the state’s health insurance exchange, online.

If you do not qualify for MinnesotaCare or Medical Assistance, you may still be eligible for a federal subsidy when you purchase insurance on MNsure. Visit www.MNsure.org for information about the next open enrollment period. If you have a qualifying life event, such as a birth, marriage, or loss of other health coverage you may be eligible for enrollment now.  

Hospitals have financial assistance counselors to help you

Minnesota hospital patient and financial services staff are happy to assist patients with enrollment options.

Minnesota hospitals have financial assistance policies and offer financial assistance counselors that can help uninsured patients consider their payment options. Many uninsured patients qualify for steeply discounted or fully covered hospitalization amounts based on their family income and assets documentation provided to the hospital financial assistance counselors. In addition, all community hospitals in Minnesota offer any patient whose family income is below $125,000 per year a discounted rate commensurate with what the largest commercial payer would pay the hospital.  

Finally, if you are a “self-pay” patient, you should contact your hospital for a price estimate.  

If you are uninsured and need medical attention at an emergency room

Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), Minnesota hospitals must screen and stabilize any patient regardless of the patient’s ability to pay.