Help Center

Getting Started Guide

Use our guide to find the information you need to know before you start your application, plus answers to frequently asked questions that will help you all the way through enrollment.

Smiling woman using a laptop outdoors.
A middle-aged couple is shown with an Assister explaining something on a form

Get Local Help

Enrollment Assisters are trained and certified individuals who can help you from application through enrollment and answer your questions about your eligibility, application, payments, plan details, sending proof, and more.

Woman talking on phone while working on laptop.

Resources and Guides

Visit our download center for information and resources on subsidies through the Health Connector, how to shop for plans, renewal information, and more.

Frequently Asked Questions and Information

  1. Metallic Tiers
  2. Premium tax credit (Advanced Premium Tax Credit – APTC)
  3. Are there different ways to get help paying for health insurance?
  4. What is the Student Health Insurance Program (SHIP)?
  5. Hardship exemption and how to apply

General Information

  1. Who can shop as a business, and who needs to shop as an individual or family through the Health Connector?
  2. Where can I get more information?
  3. Where can I learn more about plans and coverage?
  4. How can I get help in my language?
  5. What’s the difference between the Health Connector and MassHealth?

Individuals & Families

  1. How can I make a premium payment?
  2. After I finish my online application, can I log back into my account?
  3. Do I have to buy health insurance?
  4. Can I get help paying for my health insurance if I buy a plan outside the Health Connector?
  5. What if my income changes during the year? How will that affect my eligibility for a tax credit?

Small Businesses

  1. How will the employer-related policies in Massachusetts’ health reform law be reconciled with the implementation of national health reform?
  2. Who can shop as a business, and who needs to shop as an individual or family through the Health Connector?
  3. Will there be new penalties for employers and how do they apply?
  4. How do I find out if my small business could be eligible for the small business tax credits created by national health reform?
  5. What does national health reform mean for employers?

Students

  1. What is the Student Health Insurance Program (SHIP)?
  2. My family is not from Massachusetts. Can I still get help paying for my health insurance?
  3. Can I get help paying for my health insurance if I buy a plan outside the Health Connector?
  4. Where do I find out if I qualify for help to pay for my health insurance?
  5. Do students have to purchase a SHIP plan?