To qualify for ConnectorCare:
- You must live in Massachusetts.
- You must be a U.S. citizen or a “lawfully present” non-citizen.
- See more about “lawfully present”
- Your income must be 3 times the federal poverty level for your family size or lower. See the ConnectorCare Upper Income Limits table.
- The Health Connector counts:
- your federal taxable income for the year, and
- some income like your social security income, even if it is not taxable.
- Your family size is based on the people you include on your federal tax return.
- See more about the ways the Connector counts income and family size
- The Health Connector counts:
- You must be unable to qualify for other kinds of health coverage like:
- Premium-free Medicare Part A,
- Any kind of MassHealth, except MassHealth Limited, or
- Insurance you can get through your employer that ConnectorCare counts as affordable.
- See more about how other kinds of health coverage may affect your eligibility for ConnectorCare
- You must agree to file a federal tax return for the year in which you get ConnectorCare.
- Even if you do not make enough money to have to file taxes, you must file a tax return to get the “tax credit” that the government uses to pay for your ConnectorCare HMO.
- See more about ConnectorCare and tax filing
- If you are married, and will file taxes as “married filing separately” you only qualify for ConnectorCare if you need to file separately because of abuse or abandonment.
- You must enroll in one of the HMOs that offer ConnectorCare plans:
- Choose an HMO, and
- Pay any premium that is due by the 23d of the month so you can start coverage on the 1st of the next month. Not everyone will have a premium.
- You can apply at any time of year, but you must enroll:
- within 60 days of the date you are found eligible for ConnectorCare, or
- for coverage in 2023, during “open enrollment” that began Nov 1, 2022 and ends Jan. 23, 2023.
- If you miss the enrollment deadline, you may have to show the Connector that you qualify for a “special enrollment period.” See more about special enrollment periods in the ConnectorCare Advocacy Guide.
If your income is more than 300% of poverty
You may still be able to get a discount on the premium for other kinds of Health Connector Plans. Check the Get an estimate tool to find out if you qualify for this help paying your premium.