Minnesota health insurance, explained
Health insurance after losing a job in Minnesota
Losing your job means losing the plan that came with it, and that starts a clock: you have 60 days from the day coverage ends to enroll in a new plan without waiting for open enrollment. You have four real options — COBRA, a MNsure plan with help based on your new, lower income, a spouse's plan, or Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare if your income has dropped far enough — and the right one is usually not the one the HR packet leads with.
The 60-day window
Losing employer coverage is a qualifying event. Enroll within 60 days of the date your coverage ends — not the date you were let go, which can differ — and your new plan starts the first of the following month. Miss the window and you wait for open enrollment (November 1 to January 15) unless another qualifying event comes along. Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare have no window at all.
COBRA or MNsure? Do the arithmetic
COBRA (or Minnesota's own continuation law, which reaches smaller employers) lets you keep the plan you had for up to 18 months — at the full premium, the part your employer was paying included. A MNsure plan is priced on your household's expected income for the rest of the year, and a household that just lost a salary often qualifies for a substantial tax credit, sometimes for MinnesotaCare. COBRA wins when you are mid-treatment and need the same doctors; MNsure wins on price more often than not. We price both.
What your income is now
For the MNsure credit, estimate what the household will earn for the whole calendar year: the salary you already earned this year counts, severance counts, unemployment benefits count, and so does whatever you expect to earn once you land somewhere. Update the estimate when you do. If income has fallen below the Medical Assistance line for the current month, that program looks at monthly income and can start right away.
If self-employment is next
Plenty of people leave a job and start working for themselves. The plan you enroll in now carries over; what changes is the income estimate, and the premiums you pay yourself may become deductible. Our self-employed guide covers it.
Do not go without
A gap of a month or two feels harmless until it is not, and a lapse can complicate the next enrollment. If the decision is hard, a bronze plan or Medical Assistance for the interval is better than nothing, and both can be changed at the next opportunity.
Questions we get about this
Does unemployment count as income for MNsure?
Yes. Unemployment benefits and severance both count toward the year’s household income. So does the salary you earned before the job ended.
Can I switch from COBRA to a MNsure plan later?
At open enrollment, yes, or when your COBRA runs out. Choosing to drop COBRA in the middle of the year is not a qualifying event on its own, so decide carefully at the start.
My spouse has a plan at work. Should I just join it?
Losing your coverage lets you join a spouse’s plan outside their open enrollment. Compare it with a MNsure plan priced on your new income — the answer depends on what the employer charges for a spouse.
What if I find a new job in two months?
Enroll now anyway. When the new job’s coverage begins, the individual plan ends, and you will not have gone without in between.
Ask us the version that is about you.
Pat or Spencer reads every request personally. Certified MNsure brokers, independent since 1986, and there is no charge for the conversation.