Brightside Financial Care
We offer (human) Financial Assistants who can help you manage expenses, eliminate debt, and save for the future.
Medical Plan Assistance Program (MPAP)
About MPAP
MPAP provides medical coverage with no premiums or reduced premiums to eligible caregivers. Caregivers qualify based on household size and income.
Register for Brightside
Eligible caregivers who register with Brightside will have access to programs such as MPAP, and get paired with a personal Financial Assistant who can help with all things related to money – including submitting the MPAP application online. Register below to get started, quickly connect with your Brightside Financial Assistant, and learn about all resources available to you.
Important things to know before applying:
15-30 minutes
The following documents are required:
- All Income from the past 90 days for every household member earning income including pay stubs, offer letter, self-employment income statements, social security/disability statements, alimony, retirement/pension income and/or unemployment benefits.
- Federal Tax Return Most recent filed complete Federal Tax Return for each household member. *IRS transcripts and W-2 forms are not accepted.
If any household member did not file a tax return and is not a dependent on your Federal Tax Return, submit the following:
- Signed Statement From Each Adult (18+) stating he/she did not file a tax return.
- Letter Of Explanation regarding any minor household member who is not a dependent on your tax return.
- Applications can be submitted throughout the year.
- Complete all required fields and submit all required documents.
- If approved, the discount will be reflected on your paycheck as soon as administratively possible.
- If household income or size changes, you can reapply if you did not qualify in the past.
Who is eligible?
For caregivers with household incomes up to 250% of the federal poverty guidelines, MPAP provides:
- Coverage on the HRA medical plan with no premiums or a 50% discount on premiums for any other medical plan offered by your employer, and
- If enrolled in the HRA medical plan, eligible caregivers also receive a $450 contribution ($225 if assistance is approved to start July 1 or later) to your Health Reimbursement Account (HRA). This contribution is in addition to any health incentive earned.
For caregivers with household incomes up to 400% of the federal poverty guidelines, MPAP provides:
- a 50% discount on any medical plan offered by your employer.
How to apply
Applications can be submitted at any time either by registering with Brightside or by faxing the completed application to 1-800- 693-1994. Contact Brightside at 1-855-979-7768 for questions about the program or assistance completing the application.
Please note: You must re-apply for the program each year.
Frequently asked questions
If your income or household size changes, you may be eligible for the program even if you didn’t qualify in the past. Apply at any time throughout the year by contacting Brightside.
You must include all taxable income from all sources of those living in your household, including yourself. See IRS 1040 instructions or consult a tax professional for full details on what is considered taxable income.
The federal poverty guidelines, set each year by the Department of Health and Human Services, are used by the government to determine eligibility for certain programs. People are considered to be living in poverty if earning less than 100 percent of the guidelines.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides varying levels of assistance for the cost of medical insurance, with those earning up to 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines receiving the highest level of assistance. Recognizing that people earning more may still need help to afford the cost of medical coverage, the ACA offers reduced assistance for those earning up to 400 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
We modeled the eligibility guidelines for MPAP on the ACA, and, as with that program, one does not need to be living in “poverty” to be eligible for assistance. Factors such as the number of working individuals in the household or the number of household members can have a dramatic effect on an individual’s ability to afford health insurance, which is why both the ACA and our program take household size and income into account.
Yes. As with all services administered by your caregiver well-being program, Choose Well, your privacy is strictly protected. Only the information necessary for processing your application will be provided by you to Brightside, the third-party administrator of the program, and will be kept confidential.
We’re here to help, if you have any additional questions call 1-855-979-7768 or register.
