Purpose

• Establish an easy enrollment health insurance outreach program to reduce the number of uninsured Minnesotans and increase access to affordable health insurance.
• Allow the commissioner of revenue to share return information with MNsure to help taxpayers learn about potential eligibility for financial assistance and enrollment options.
• Enable MNsure to estimate potential eligibility for financial assistance and provide general information about health insurance programs and available financial help.
• Let MNsure conduct targeted outreach to qualified households and connect them with free enrollment assistance from a navigator or broker.

Main Provisions

• Subdivision 1 – Establishment and goals

  • Creates the easy enrollment health insurance outreach program; specifies cooperation between the MNsure board and the commissioner of revenue.
  • Aims to reduce uninsured rate and improve access to affordable coverage.
  • Allows return information to be shared with MNsure to inform taxpayers about eligibility and enrollment options.

• Subdivision 2 – Screening for eligibility

  • When MNsure receives return information, it may make a projected assessment of whether a household could qualify for financial assistance.
  • MNsure can review information to identify households that may benefit from health coverage and financial assistance and provide general information about options.

• Subdivision 3 – Outreach letter and special enrollment period

  • MNsure must send a written outreach letter with the projected assessment and general information about coverage and financial help to taxpayers who request information.
  • If the taxpayer is determined eligible, MNsure must allow a special enrollment period to enroll in a qualified health plan (QHP) through MNsure.
  • Trigger for the special enrollment period is the mailing date of the outreach letter; eligible individuals and dependents have 65 days to choose a plan.
  • Coverage for chosen plan becomes effective the first day of the month after plan selection.
  • Households with a current member enrolled in a QHP are not eligible for this special enrollment.
  • MNsure must publicly share information about the easy enrollment program and the special enrollment period.

• Subdivision 4 – Appeals

  • Eligibility projections produced under this section are not appealable.
  • Information provided under this section is not appealable.
  • However, eligibility for the special enrollment period is appealable to MNsure under existing law and rules.

How it changes existing law

• Adds a formal “easy enrollment health insurance outreach program” to Minnesota law (section 62V.13), creating a new framework for outreach and enrollment assistance.
• Creates a process for sharing return information from the Department of Revenue with MNsure to inform eligibility and enrollment options.
• Establishes a mechanism for MNsure to project eligibility for financial assistance and to conduct targeted outreach, including connecting taxpayers to free enrollment help.
• Introduces a new special enrollment period tied to mailed outreach letters, with a 65-day enrollment window and specific eligibility conditions.
• Sets limitations on appealability for the outreach assessments and information, while preserving an appeal path for the special enrollment eligibility.

Implications and who is affected

• Taxpayers who interact with the tax system and are seeking health coverage may receive a personalized outreach letter with information about eligibility and options.
• Households may gain easier access to health insurance through a temporary special enrollment period if they receive and qualify from the outreach.
• MNsure and the Department of Revenue are given new duties to collaborate, share information, and run targeted outreach, potentially increasing enrollment in affordable plans.
• People already enrolled in a QHP are excluded from the special enrollment pathway created by this bill.

Potential considerations

• The outreach and projection process relies on information from tax returns; accuracy and privacy protections will be important.
• The 65-day enrollment window provides a set timeframe that could impact when coverage begins for new enrollees.
• Non-appealability of the outreach assessments may affect individuals who want to challenge a projected determination, though there is an appeal path for the special enrollment eligibility.

Relevant Terms easy enrollment health insurance outreach program MNsure commissioner of revenue return information financial assistance qualified health plan (QHP) outreach letter special enrollment period triggering event 65 days first day of the month after plan selection navigator broker free enrollment assistance projected assessment appealable appeal Minnesota Rules 7700 270B.14 subdivision 22 uninsured Minnesotans health insurance coverage health insurance enrollment options financial assistance programs