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The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) received notification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that certain home and community-based services provisions may be waived during the COVID-19 federal public health emergency. Currently, the federal public health emergency is expected to expire at the end of July 2020.
What this means for Housing Stabilization Services:
DHS will temporarily waive:
- The conflict of interest requirements for all providers. This means the same provider can complete the assessment, person-centered plan, and service delivery for the same person. Providers will not have to submit an exception request.
- The requirement for people and providers to sign the person-centered plan. Providers are still required to be informed of the person-centered plan’s content and verbally agree to provide services before plans are submitted to the state.
- The requirement for DHS to evaluate settings to determine whether they meet the home and community-based services setting standards; however, this does not change the requirement for settings to meet those standards. Anyone who receives Housing Stabilization Services must either currently live in, or receive supports to transition to, a setting that meets the home and community-based services setting standards.
In addition to the waivers identified above, the Housing and Support Services Division will also waive the requirement that remote support is limited to 20% of all housing stabilization services provided to a person in a calendar month. This means that providers may offer remote support in excess of 20% without requesting approval from DHS through the duration of the public health emergency.
CMS will notify DHS when the COVID-19 public health emergency has ended. Upon conclusion of the public health emergency, DHS will notify Housing Stabilization Services providers that the home and community-based services requirements are reinstated and provide a timeline for compliance.
As a reminder, Provider Enrollment is now open. Please refer to the Minnesota Health Care Programs Housing Stabilization Services Provider Manual and Housing Stabilization Services Policy Manual for additional information regarding the service. If you have additional questions, please contact us directly at dhshousingstabilization@state.mn.us.
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