We're an independent Minnesota brokerage that works for you, not the carriers. We navigate MNsure, MinnesotaCare, Medical Assistance, and private plans across all 87 counties — and we keep Mayo, M Health Fairview, Essentia, and HealthPartners networks straight so you don't get a surprise bill.
We're appointed with every major MNsure carrier and many off-marketplace specialists. Independence is the whole point.
North Star is independent. Every carrier on this strip pays us the same way — so the plan we recommend is the one that fits you, not the one with the best commission.
Quartz at Mayo, HealthPartners on the Iron Range, BCBSMN in greater MN — Minnesota networks have personality. We've been through every quirk.
From Hennepin's MNsure enrollment to St. Louis County's MA paperwork to Olmsted's Mayo-driven choices — we adjust the conversation to where you actually live.
Minnesota's insurance landscape is unusually rich — and unusually confusing. We map your situation against every program and carrier in the state.
Minnesota runs its own ACA exchange — MNsure — with its own carriers, networks, and enrollment rules. We help you compare every metal tier across BCBSMN, Medica, HealthPartners, UCare, and Quartz.
Minnesota's signature program for residents earning between 138% and 200% FPL — a low-cost, state-funded plan that exists nowhere else in the country. Eligibility is nuanced; we walk you through it.
Minnesota's expanded Medicaid program, well-administered across all 87 counties. We help families, kids, pregnant Minnesotans, and disabled residents navigate eligibility and county-office paperwork.
Stand-alone dental for adults — Delta Dental of MN, HealthPartners Dental, MetLife — plus pediatric dental that travels with your marketplace plan automatically.
VSP, EyeMed, and Davis Vision plans available statewide — from Pearle in Edina to independent optometrists on the Iron Range. Annual exams, frames, contacts, and LASIK discounts.
Minnesota small-group health coverage for 2–50 employee Twin Cities startups, Rochester clinics, farm cooperatives, and Greater MN main-street businesses. SHOP-eligible and direct-carrier options.
Minnesota isn't one health insurance market — it's a dozen overlapping ones. Here's where our advisors spend most of their time.
Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the seven-county metro — households balancing employer coverage, MNsure plans, and growing-family needs across Hennepin, Ramsey, and Dakota counties.
Rochester nurses, traveling clinicians, and patients from across the country who need a plan that keeps Mayo in-network — not an off-marketplace surprise.
Steelworkers, miners, and trades families transitioning between union benefits and ACA marketplace coverage — including Essentia and St. Luke's network matching.
Self-employed farmers, agricultural co-op members, and west-central MN families whose coverage choices depend on Critical Access Hospitals and travel distance.
No call-center scripts, no rushed enrollments. Just a guided walk through Minnesota's unique system, at your pace.
ZIP code, household, and a few quick details. Plans available in Edina differ from those in Hibbing or Worthington — we route you to your county's options.
Your advisor checks MinnesotaCare and Medical Assistance eligibility first, then layers MNsure marketplace plans, then off-marketplace alternatives — in that order.
Mayo, HealthPartners, M Health Fairview, Allina, Essentia, Sanford — we cross-check every plan against your current providers before recommending anything.
Your North Star advisor handles MNsure paperwork, county office calls, and renewals — for as long as you're a client. Minnesota Nice, with paperwork done right.
North Star Health Guide is a Minnesota-only enrollment brokerage. We don't sell insurance in Texas or Florida — we obsess over MNsure, MinnesotaCare, Medical Assistance, and how Mayo, M Health Fairview, Essentia, and HealthPartners networks fit your family.
From ice-storm ER visits in the Twin Cities to snowmobile injuries up north, we know what Minnesotans actually file claims for — and we pick plans that don't leave you exposed.
Mayo, M Health Fairview, Essentia, Allina, HealthPartners — every plan we recommend is checked against your current doctors before you enroll, so a Rochester referral or U of M specialist visit never turns into a surprise out-of-network bill.
We're an independent brokerage — not a captive agency owned by Blue Cross, Medica, or UCare. That means we recommend the plan that fits your family, not the one that pays us the highest commission.
We don't dabble in 50 states. Every advisor on our team lives, drives, and works in Minnesota — and we know the rate differences between Hennepin, St. Louis, and Olmsted counties cold.
Every plan includes free enrollment support and a dedicated licensed agent who works for you, not the carriers.
Perfect for healthy individuals ages 18–35
Full family coverage — everyone protected
Tailored group plans for 2–200 employees
Three Minnesotans whose coverage went from confusing to clear after one call.
“We'd been guessing at MNsure for three open-enrollments in a row. North Star sat with us for an hour, screened the kids for Medical Assistance, and put me and my husband on a HealthPartners plan that actually kept our pediatrician at Hennepin Healthcare in network.”
Asha M.Cedar-Riverside, Minneapolis
“I'm a contract nurse at Mayo. Every plan I'd looked at off-marketplace dropped Mayo as in-network the moment I needed care. North Star matched me to a Quartz plan with full Mayo access and saved me from a four-figure premium hike.”
Bridget K.RN, Rochester
“When the mine cut hours and our union plan ran out, I had 45 days. The North Star team had me enrolled in a Medica plan with Essentia in network before the COBRA letter even arrived. They knew the Iron Range cold.”
Dale O.Steelworker, Hibbing
A few quick questions. A licensed North Star Health Guide advisor or one of our marketing partners will reach out with plan options that match your needs.
We'll tailor your options based on who needs coverage.
Seven things our MNsure-certified advisors hear most. If yours isn't here, ask us — we answer the phone in Minneapolis hours.
Minnesota residents use MNsure — the state-based marketplace established under the ACA. HealthCare.gov is for residents of states without their own exchange. MNsure has its own carriers, premium tax credit calculator, and enrollment timeline. Your North Star advisor is MNsure-certified and handles the full application with you.
MinnesotaCare is a state-funded low-cost health plan for Minnesotans earning roughly 138%–200% of the federal poverty level — too much income for Medical Assistance, but where marketplace coverage is still a stretch. Medical Assistance is Minnesota's expanded Medicaid program for lower-income residents. We screen you for both, in the right order, before quoting private plans.
Networks vary by carrier and plan year. Before we recommend anything, we run your current Mayo Clinic, M Health Fairview, Allina, HealthPartners, or Essentia providers against each plan's network — including specialty wings at Mayo Rochester, which not every Minnesota plan covers in full.
Fully independent. North Star Health Guide is not owned by Blue Cross, Medica, UCare, HealthPartners, or any other Minnesota carrier. We're licensed through the MN Department of Commerce and MNsure-certified, and we get paid the same standardized commission regardless of which plan you choose — so our recommendation is based on your family's needs, not ours.
Yes — significantly. Iron Range and Duluth-area residents have a narrower MNsure carrier mix focused around Medica, BCBSMN, and HealthPartners, with Essentia as the dominant network. Twin Cities residents get a much wider mix including Quartz, UCare, and HealthPartners-PreferredOne combinations.
MNsure's open enrollment runs from November 1 through January 15 each plan year. Outside that window, you need a qualifying life event — job loss, move, marriage, baby, or aging off a parent's plan at 26 — to trigger a Special Enrollment Period. Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare enrollment, by contrast, are open year-round.
Most self-employed Minnesotans qualify for MNsure premium tax credits because their income fluctuates. We help you estimate income realistically, claim the right advance credit, reconcile at tax time, and avoid the year-end surprise that catches a lot of freelancers off guard.