Frequently Asked Questions

The process is different depending on whether you are a new hire or a current employee who has become newly-eligible for insurance.

For employees new to the State of Minnesota: You will enroll online using the Self-Service system. An enrollment packet will be sent to the home address that you have provided. New state employees generally have 35 days to enroll in benefits.

If you are a current State of Minnesota employee: When a change to your job makes you newly-eligible for insurance, an enrollment packet will be sent to your home. Newly-insurance-eligible employees generally have 30 days to enroll in benefits, using the forms provided by SEGIP in the mail, rather than through Self-Service. Enrollment forms must be received by SEGIP by the 30th day.

Either way, it is important make sure your mailing address is up-to-date in Self-Service.

All employees should review the benefits summary and the SEGIP newsletter mailed to your home address and our website to find out what is new, which benefits are open, and what changes you can make.

We recommend doing these three things:

Check your Primary Care Clinic. Each fall, it is important to review the Clinic Directory for next year to determine whether your clinic will be changing cost levels. If your clinic has changed cost levels, it could mean higher copays. Even if your current clinic isn’t changing cost levels, you should check to see whether it is available at a lower cost level for next year through another plan administrator. 

Take the Health Assessment. Reduce your copays for the next calendar year by taking the StayWell health assessment, which helps you evaluate your health risks and offers customized recommendations. The only way to get the $5 copayment reduction is by taking the health assessment during Open Enrollment and agreeing to a call with a health coach. Your results are confidential and are not shared with your employer.

Consider enrolling in pre-tax accounts. Pre-tax account elections (MDEA, DCEA or TEA/BVEA) are only for one calendar year. This means that each year you must make an affirmative election in order to have an account. The pre-tax benefits offered by SEGIP and administered by 121 Benefits can provide you with substantial tax savings. Review our website for additional information on what you can pay for with pre-tax money.

For new hires: When you enroll in benefits, review this year's Clinic Directory to determine your preferred clinic and enter the corresponding clinic number in Self-Service.

For newly-insurance-eligible employees: When you enroll in benefits, review this year's Clinic Directory to determine your preferred clinic and enter the corresponding clinic number on your paper enrollment form.

For all other employees: If you plan to switch plan administrators during Open Enrollment, you will select your new clinic through Self-Service. If you are staying with the same plan administrator, the only way to change your clinic is by contacting your plan administrator (the contact information is on the back of your member card). After Open Enrollment, you may also change your clinic at any point during the year but you cannot switch plan administrators until next year’s Open Enrollment. All clinic changes are effective the first day of the month following the date of your request.

You can also review the 2017 Clinic Directory to determine which cost level any clinic will be in next year.

You can make changes to optional life and short-term disability insurance throughout the year, but may have to provide evidence of insurability to enroll in or increase coverage levels. Enrolling in or modifying optional long-term disability coverage is only allowed during Open Enrollment, though you may cancel at any time.

In terms of your health and dental insurance, the only allowed changes outside of Open Enrollment are if you experience a “qualifying life event,” such as marriage, birth, adoption, divorce, and certain job changes. See Changing coverage at other times in the Your Employee Benefits booklet for a full list of qualifying life events.

If you have experienced a change from part-time to full-time employment with the State of Minnesota or vice versa, you may make certain limited changes to your insurance benefits. 

Contact SEGIP to find out more: segip.mmb@state.mn.us or 651-355-0100.

Medical: In 2017, the single premium for employees who receive the full employer contribution will be $30.66 per month (an increase of $2.36 per month from 2016). The family premium will be $209.20 per month (an increase of $16.76 per month from 2016).

Dental: In 2017, the single premium will remain at $5 per month. The family premium will be $38.00 per month (an increase of $3.94 a month).

For more information, review the 2017 rate guide. To verify the amount of employer contribution to your premiums, check your paystub or ask your agency Human Resources representative.

SEGIP’s benefit design helps us keep costs down for our members while also allowing for broad choice and access. We assign primary care clinics to one of four cost levels, with member cost-sharing corresponding to the cost efficiency of the health care provider. In other words: the more effectively your primary care clinic controls health care costs, the lower your copays.

Our Clinic Directory will show you all clinics in the SEGIP network among all three plan administrators. You can search for a clinic by clinic name, carrier and/or cost level. Once the clinic information displays on the screen, you will see the clinic name, clinic address and clinic cost level. You may also contact the plan administrator directly to find out this information.

Every year some primary care clinics change cost levels, so it’s important for you to check during each Open Enrollment to see if yours has moved or whether it is available at a lower cost level through a different plan administrator.

In general, employees may cover spouses and children below age 26, as well as other dependents in rarer cases. To obtain coverage for your dependent(s), you will need to submit legal documentation sufficient to prove their eligibility, including the appropriate SEGIP certification form for evaluation of eligibility. For some categories of dependents, SEGIP will ask for continued proof of eligibility, typically every two years but more regularly in some cases.

See pages 31-33 of Your Employee Benefits for more detail. If you have questions about whether your dependent is eligible, please contact SEGIP staff at segip.mmb@state.mn.us or 651-355-0100.

Generally, you may drop a spouse or dependent for any reason during the annual Open Enrollment. You may add a spouse or dependent to your health coverage for any reason during each year’s Open Enrollment, while you may only add them to your dental coverage every other year.

You may be able to add or drop them outside of Open Enrollment if you or they have experienced a qualifying life event. You can review the list of qualifying life events online, but it is always best to contact SEGIP right away to check whether the life event is applicable and to be clear on the deadlines. You may be required to submit documentation verifying your spouse’s or dependent’s eligibility up front and possibly again in the future. Reach us at segip.mmb@state.mn.us or 651-355-0100.

For questions around enrollment or billing, contact the SEGIP staff member assigned the first initial of your last name. You can find the full list here. On that same list are our pre-tax experts, who specialize in all of the pre-tax accounts that we administer, as well as Benefits Specialists, who focus on complex issues related to health care claims, cost-sharing, and more. You can always call our main number if you don’t know who the right contact is: 651-355-0100. We also respond as quickly as we can to inquiries to our general mailbox: segip.mmb@state.mn.us.

In order to protect your privacy, only email SEGIP sensitive personal data (birth dates, social security numbers, documents that prove dependent eligibility, etc.) if you are sending from a @state.mn.us domain. Otherwise, your data could be at risk. Less sensitive data may be sent from personal email or another state domain. To fax us sensitive personal data, use our secure fax line: 651-296-5445. You may also mail the information to us at MMB - SEGIP 400 Centennial Office Building 658 Cedar Street St. Paul, Minnesota 55155. If you have any questions, please call us at 651-355-0100.