Health coverage help available: MNsure awards $30,000 locally [Fergus Falls Daily Journal, Minn.]

Sep. 14—MNsure, the state's health insurance marketplace, recently announced over $4.2 million in grant awards to 22 organizations to support increased outreach and enrollment help in communities across the state. Called the Navigator Grant Program, it aims to target those individuals who have fallen through the cracks — individuals without any medical insurance.

Regionally, part of the grant was awarded to United Community Action Partnership, which itself covers a 9-county service area in central and southwest Minnesota. Local organization MAHUBE-OTWA is one of UCAP's four paid partners covering additional areas, and has been a beneficiary of roughly $30,000 of the Navigator Grant Program to help the uninsured.

Lynn Nesland, stabilization services manager with MAHUBE-OTWA, said certified staff will be made available for helping with the application process.

"We have individual staff members who are certified MNsure navigators. If a family does not have health insurance, we schedule them an appointment with our navigators and they would then, step-by-step, walk someone through that application. A MNsure application can only be done on a computer, not a cell phone or an iPad. That's a difficult thing for some people, because not everyone has an actual computer. So, the navigator will go through the application process with them," Nesland explained.

According to MNsure, navigators will provide crucial support for consumers by answering questions and guiding them through the application and enrollment process from start to finish, completely free of cost. They also emphasize that a navigator can reduce barriers to obtaining or maintaining health coverage, such as a lack of comfort using technology, unreliable internet access, language barriers or unfamiliarity with health insurance terminology.

MNsure says although navigators are available to help all Minnesotans find health insurance coverage, they have special expertise for those with lower incomes who may be eligible for coverage through public programs like Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare. No monthly premium is required for Medical Assistance, and new federal legislation ensures that MinnesotaCare premiums will remain very low through 2025.

"We have MNsure brokers that we partner with, who also have a contract with MNsure to be available to individuals with certain income levels if they're not eligible for medical assistance from Minnesota Care and it's called a qualified health plan. That's like employer sponsored insurance. We refer them to a broker to help them pick a plan. We typically work with lower income individuals and families, but we also work with those that have moderate or higher income," said Nesland.

Nesland shared that interested parties can walk into any of the five locations of MAHUBE-OTWA, or they can call and ask for a MNsure navigator to set up an appointment.

All 22 organizations that received part of the $4.2 million grant will employ MNsure-certified navigators and that together with their partners. They previously helped nearly 20,000 Minnesotans enroll in health coverage between July 2021 and June 2022.

Nesland said navigators are available to assist in person, over the phone or by virtual meeting. Navigator services are always free of cost, but appointments are recommended by stopping into the Fergus Falls office at 128 West Cavour Avenue or by calling 888-458-1385.

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