Medical Assistance

2.1.1.2.1.3.1 Cost-Effective Health Insurance (Archive)

Health insurance other than Medical Assistance (MA) that covers an enrollee is a liable third party. A subset of third party liability (TPL) includes group health plans, individual health plans, TRICARE plans, and certain long-term care (LTC) insurance. When an enrollee is covered by, or could be covered by, health insurance that falls within this subset of TPL, MA will pay the premium, or a portion of the premium, if it is cost effective to have the enrollee covered by the other health insurance.

Cost effective means that paying for the other health insurance, and for any MA services the other health insurance does not cover, will cost less than paying for MA services without the other health insurance.

When a county or tribal agency determines that a group health plan, individual health plan, TRICARE plan, or LTC insurance is cost effective, it is called cost-effective health insurance (CEHI).

Enrollees who have CEHI for their primary coverage are covered for the same MA services as enrollees without CEHI because MA pays for any MA services the CEHI does not cover.

Health Insurance Reviewed for Cost Effectiveness

County and tribal agencies review whether a group health plan, individual health plan, TRICARE plan, or LTC insurance available to an enrollee is cost effective. A person must be an MA applicant or enrollee for an agency to review their other health insurance options for CEHI.

Group Health Plans

A group health plan, including a self-insured plan, is a plan of, or contributed to by, an employer, including a person who is self-employed, or employee organization to provide health care to employees, former employees, the employer, others associated or formerly associated with the employer in a business relationship, or their families. A group health plan is often referred to as employer-sponsored insurance. For purposes of CEHI, the term group health plan also includes continuation coverage of an employer or employee-sponsored group health plan under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA).

A person may have access to a group health plan through their own employer or a family member’s employer.

As a condition of eligibility for MA, an enrollee must:

• Report access to a group health plan at the time of application or any time after when access to a group health plan becomes available

• Cooperate in determining whether the coverage under a group health plan coverage is cost effective. Enrollees have 10 days to provide information about a group health plan to maintain MA eligibility.

• Report when coverage under a group health plan ends or changes

If an enrollee has access to a group health plan through their employer and is notified that one or more group health plans available to the enrollee is cost effective, the enrollee must:

• Enroll in the cost-effective group health plan at the earliest possible date if they are not currently enrolled

  • An enrollee loses MA eligibility if they refuse to apply for enrollment in a cost-effective group health plan. The person remains ineligible until the next open enrollment period for the group health plan.

  • A plan sponsor of a group health plan must allow an employee and their  dependents to enroll in the plan during a special enrollment period if all of the following conditions are met:

    • The employee or their dependents are eligible for the group health plan and are eligible for MA to pay the premium for the group health plan as CEHI

    • The employee requests such enrollment within 60 days from the date the employee or their dependents were determined eligible for CEHI reimbursement

• Maintain enrollment in a cost-effective group health plan if they are already enrolled. An enrollee already enrolled in a cost-effective group health plan may choose to enroll in a different group health plan through the same employer if the following is true:

  • The new group health plan is also cost effective; and

  • There is no lapse in group health plan coverage.

  • When there is only one cost-effective group health plan option available to the enrollee and they are enrolled in that option, disenrollment from the plan results in termination of MA eligibility. The person remains ineligible until the next open enrollment period for the group health plan.

An enrollee with access to a cost-effective group health plan through their own employer loses MA eligibility if they do not cooperate with these requirements, with the exception of a pregnant woman eligible for CHIP-funded MA.

An enrollee who has access to a cost-effective group health plan through a family member’s employer does not lose MA eligibility if they do not enroll in the group health plan. This is because the enrollee cannot enroll in the plan on their own behalf. See MA Cooperation for more information.

An enrollee does not have to cooperate with CEHI requirements when the enrollee is a Safe at Home (SAH) Address Confidentiality program participant and the policyholder, or the potential policyholder, of the other health insurance is the enrollee’s probable assailant.

Individual Health Plans

An individual health plan is a health plan other than job-based coverage that a person can purchase on the private insurance market. An enrollee is not required to enroll or maintain enrollment in an individual health plan if it is cost effective. Enrollment is optional.

Individual health plans available on the MNsure marketplace cannot be reviewed for cost effectiveness.

TRICARE Plans

TRICARE is the health care program for uniformed U.S. service members. An enrollee with access to a TRICARE plan is not required to enroll or maintain enrollment in the plan if it is cost effective. Enrollment is optional.

LTC Insurance

An LTC insurance policy is cost effective for an enrollee who is currently paying a premium for the policy and living in a nursing facility if the policy covers nursing facility costs and their Medicare co-insurance for the current nursing facility stay. An enrollee is not required to enroll or maintain enrollment in this type of LTC insurance. Enrollment is optional.

Not Reviewed for Cost Effectiveness:  Certain Health Care Accounts, Arrangements, and Plans

The following types of health insurance are not reviewed or reimbursed for cost effectiveness:

• Health flexible spending accounts (FSAs)

• Health savings accounts (HSAs)

• Archer medical savings accounts (MSAs)

• Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs)

• Voluntary employees’ beneficiary associations (VEBAs)

• MinnesotaCare

• Group health, individual health, TRICARE and LTC insurance plans for people who are enrolled in Medicare

• Individual health plans in which the network providers primarily practice in another state (outside of both Minnesota and Tribal nations that share geography with Minnesota).

FSAs, HSAs, and MSAs

FSAs, HSAs, or MSAs are not legally responsible by statute, contract, or agreement for payment of a claim for a health care item or service.

Though these accounts receive tax-preferred treatment for payment of qualified medical expenses, account funds are spent at the account holder’s choosing – they are never legally required to spend the funds for any particular purpose, health care related or otherwise. MA can only pay an enrollee’s costs for other insurance coverage strictly limited to health services.

A person with an HSA or MSA must also be covered by a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) for the HSA or MSA to be valid. An HDHP that is a group health plan may be reviewed for cost effectiveness, but the HSA or MSA is not.

HRAs and VEBAs

While HRAs generally are classified as group health plans, only employers can make contributions to HRAs. Because beneficiaries of an HRA do not pay premiums or make contributions, there is no cost to reimburse.

A VEBA is a tax-exempt account that may include health benefit plans, life insurance, disability insurance, accident insurance, vacation, or other employee benefits. Because VEBAs can be complex, technical, and variable, the administrative cost of reviewing them for CEHI makes them not cost effective.

MinnesotaCare

County and tribal agencies do not review or reimburse premiums paid for MinnesotaCare under the MA CEHI program. A person cannot be eligible for MA and MinnesotaCare at the same time.

Plans Available to People Who Are Enrolled in Medicare

An enrollee who is also enrolled in Medicare cannot have their premiums for a group health plan, individual health plan, TRICARE plan, or LTC insurance reviewed or reimbursed for CEHI because it is not cost effective to do so.

Medical Support

County and tribal agencies review certain court-ordered medical support for cost effectiveness. Medical support includes health insurance coverage that a noncustodial parent provides, or is court-ordered to provide, to meet the medical needs of their child. See the MA Medical Support policy for more information.

Medical Support Reviewed for Cost Effectiveness

If a noncustodial parent has been ordered by a court to carry health insurance for their children, the health insurance is reviewed for cost effectiveness when the parent is enrolled in MA.

If the noncustodial court-ordered parent is not enrolled in MA, but the noncustodial parent's health insurance covers MA enrollees, the insurance can be reviewed for cost effectiveness only when all of the following criteria are met:

• The noncustodial parent left a job and has continued dependent coverage available through COBRA.

• The child support officer determined that the noncustodial parent is no longer financially able to keep the coverage in effect.

When the criteria are met and the health insurance is determined to be cost effective, the county or tribal agency reimburses premiums to the former employer or the custodial parent directly. The agency does not reimburse the non-custodial parent for the cost of premiums.

Medical Support Not Reviewed for Cost Effectiveness

Except as noted in the previous section, county and tribal agencies do not review a noncustodial parent's health insurance for cost effectiveness when all of the following criteria are met:

• The noncustodial parent is not enrolled in MA.

• The noncustodial parent has been ordered by a court to carry the health insurance for their children.

Methods for Determining Cost Effectiveness

There are only two methods to determine the cost effectiveness of group health plans, individual health plans, and TRICARE plans.

Standard Calculation

Under the standard calculation for cost effectiveness, a health plan is cost effective when the monthly insurance premium (or prorated portion of a family premium) plus 1/12th of the annual average cost factor by age, is less than the current MA managed care monthly rate for people of the same age.

The annual average cost factor is the average paid costs of health insurance, including the deductible, coinsurance, and copayments, plus the cost of MA wraparound benefits and administrative costs in a preceding calendar year, averaged by age group or pregnancy status for individuals with CEHI coverage.

When more than one enrollee is considered for CEHI coverage under a single health plan, the prorated premium and average annual costs by age for each individual are added together and compared to the combined MA managed care rate for the individuals.

2:1 Ratio Calculation

Under the 2:1 ratio calculation for cost effectiveness, a health plan is cost effective when the plan’s annual covered medical expenses for enrollees exceed annual premium costs, plus the annual average cost factor, by at least a 2:1 ratio and the enrollees’ medical conditions remain the same.

Dental and Vision Insurance Reviewed for Cost Effectiveness

If a group health plan, individual health plan, or TRICARE plan is cost effective under the standard calculation, the county or tribal agency can also review whether dental and vision plan options available to an enrollee are cost effective. The agency determines the cost effectiveness of dental and vision plans by factoring the dental and vision plan premiums into the standard calculation.

Dental and vision plan options cannot be reviewed for cost effectiveness unless a health plan covering the enrollee is cost effective under the standard calculation. If a health plan is cost effective under the 2:1 ratio calculation, or not cost effective under either calculation, the dental and vision plan options cannot be reviewed for cost effectiveness.

Premium Payments for CEHI

County and tribal agencies reimburse the policyholder, employer, or insurer for CEHI premiums when an enrollee either enrolls or remains enrolled in the CEHI.

Premium payment is limited to one health plan and, if available, one dental plan and vision plan.

Submitting Proof of Premium Payment

For a CEHI policyholder to be reimbursed directly by the county or tribal agency, the policyholder must submit proof to the agency showing they paid the CEHI premiums. The policyholder has up to 12 months beginning from the date the CEHI was reported to submit proof of premiums paid during that time span.

• Reported means information about the insurance was provided to the agency that leads the agency to determine the insurance was cost effective.

• For the policyholder’s final premium payment in the 12-month span, the agency provides the policyholder an extra 10 days starting from the beginning of the first month that follows the 12-month span to submit proof of the final premium payment.

Retroactive Eligibility

A person can receive retroactive MA eligibility for up to three months before the month of MA application. If the person was covered by other health insurance during the retroactive eligibility period, and the health insurance is determined cost effective, the agency reimburses CEHI premiums paid during that period if proof of payment is submitted, even if that period began before the CEHI was reported. See MHCP Retroactive Eligibility for more information.

Managed care exclusions

Enrollees with coverage under a cost-effective group or individual health plan are excluded from enrollment in managed care. MA pays fee-for-service for any services that enrollees are entitled to under MA that their CEHI does not cover. However, there can be a one-month overlap of managed care enrollment and reimbursement for CEHI when an enrollee is unable to timely disenroll from MA managed care because of administrative processes.

Refer to the Prepaid Minnesota Health Care Programs Manual for more information.

Redetermination of Cost Effectiveness

County and tribal agencies must redetermine the cost effectiveness of a CEHI plan for which premiums are being paid when any of the following occurs:

• The agency conducts an MA renewal

• There is a change to the health insurance plan that may affect whether it is cost effective, including, but not limited to:

  • A change in the plan’s premium

  • An enrollee is added or dropped from the health insurance plan coverage

  • A person covered under the health insurance plan loses MA eligibility

Legal Citations

Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, sections 433.147 and 433.148

Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, section 435.1015

Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0071

Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0430

Minnesota Statutes, section 256B.056, subdivision 8

Minnesota Statutes, section 256B.0625, subdivision 15

United States Code, title 26, section 220

United States Code, title 26, section 223

United States Code, title 26, section 501, paragraph (c), clause (9)

United States Code, title 26, section 5000, paragraph (b)

United States Code, title 26, section 9801, paragraph (f), clause (3)

United States Code, title 42, section 1396d, paragraph (a), clause (29)

United States Code, title 42, section 1396e

Published: October 1, 2021

Archived: December 1, 2022