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Since March 2020, Minnesotans who rely on Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare have remained enrolled in public health care program coverage regardless of most changes in their lives that previously would have made them ineligible. Like all states, Minnesota paused its standard reviews of enrollee eligibility to maintain continuous coverage for people during the pandemic.
Congress recently passed legislation mandating states to return to standard eligibility procedures in public health care programs by April 2023. Due to this change, nearly 1.5 million Minnesotans enrolled in Medicaid (called Medical Assistance in Minnesota) or MinnesotaCare will need their eligibility for the programs reviewed in the next 18 months.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) is creating a comprehensive plan on how to complete the necessary work to resume these eligibility reviews, which need to take place for a quarter of the state’s population. DHS is committed to ensuring that eligible Minnesotans retain their public coverage and ineligible Minnesotans connect with other coverage options. The process will be particularly challenging for Minnesotans who lack stable home addresses or access to internet or phone services and the department is working ensure that people facing homelessness are supported in the process.
Join the webinar tomorrow from 1:00 – 2:00 pm to hear from Dr. Nathan Chomilo, Minnesota’s Medicaid Medical Director. Dr. Chomilo and his team want to hear from you on how DHS can best support people facing homelessness with the renewal paperwork. If you have any questions about your webinar registration, please email elizabeth.dressel@state.mn.us.
On December 19, the State of Minnesota launched a new telehealth test-to-treat program to ensure Minnesotans who have tested positive for COVID-19 have easy access to clinician care and medicine that reduce their risk of serious illness or hospitalization. Beginning immediately, Minnesotans who test positive for COVID-19, either with a home test or a positive test from a lab, can download the Cue Health app and sign up to have a virtual consultation with a licensed clinician who will evaluate them to determine if therapeutic treatment is a good option. If they are a good candidate for therapeutics, the clinician can issue that prescription to the patient’s local pharmacy. In some areas of the state, those prescription medications can be delivered to the person’s home.
All services, including the consultation, medication and delivery, will come at no cost to the Minnesotans who use this service. This pilot program is available to all Minnesota residents.
For more information on how to access this program and for instructions on downloading and getting started with the Cue Health App, please visit care.cuehealth.com/mn.
The Department of Human Services' (DHS) Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) continues to have funding available to support rapid responses to COVID-19 in overnight or day shelters, drop-in centers, and street outreach programs for people facing homelessness or domestic violence.
The funds began in December 2021 and expire June 30, 2023. Of the $10 million allocated, a little over $6 million has been spent.
Funds can be used to support:
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Wages for staff who must isolation or quarantine due to COVID exposure, so staff do not need to use personal paid time off to cover isolation/quarantine period or go without pay.
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Hiring temporary emergency staff to fill shifts in an emergency when staff are isolating or quarantining due to COVID.
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Hazard pay for staff who are directly working in the shelter setting or isolation and/or quarantine space. Applicants must provide a detailed budget narrative including number of staff, hourly increase/amount, and comply with the current Treasury Dept. Interim Regulations for Fiscal Recovery Funds (FRF), which include important limitations on hazard pay (referred to as “premium pay” in the regulations).
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Operating costs for quarantine and/or isolation space, including standing isolation/quarantine space available to persons experiencing homelessness in the community (who cannot stay in shelter due to a required isolation or quarantine period). The funding can support the staffing, food, and operating costs of the quarantine and/or isolation space.
- This funding is not intended to maintain or expand current shelter operations, but rather to safely respond to COVID. In some cases, funds could be used to provide preventive spaces (such as hotels) during a large outbreak when the need for such a space is determined in consultation with MDH.
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Other needs as defined by the setting that could help manage a provider’s response to COVID. This could include transportation to testing or medical appointments and the purchasing of testing kits. These are flexible funds, and the review committee is open to other uses that will protect shelter guests and staff from COVID.
As of September 1, 2022, funding for hazard pay is limited to settings with at least one active case that is reported to and verified by MDH; however, expenses under all other categories do not require any active cases to be eligible.
Learn more about eligible uses and how eligible settings can apply at https://mich.mn.gov/shelter-outbreak-funds. Please contact Annie McCabe at ann.e.mccabe@state.mn.us with any questions.
Cases among people experiencing homelessness and the staff who support continues to remain steady. The MDH team continues to monitor cases and our team continues to plan alongside local public health and emergency management on ways to be best prepared to support people experiencing homelessness through any future surges. If you are looking for any information or resources, you can find information at https://mich.mn.gov/covid-19 or email Health.R-Congregate@state.mn.us.
The Task Force on Shelter held their final meeting on December 12, 2022, and submitted their final report to the Legislature on December 15, 2022.
In 2021, the Minnesota Legislature authorized the Task Force on Shelter and charged the group to develop standards for the provision of shelter and examine the need for, and feasibility and cost of, establishing state oversight of shelter. The Task Force on Shelter was required to examine existing shelter policies and practices in shelters of all types, engage stakeholders, and make recommendations to the legislature regarding standards that will strengthen the shelter system and ensure that shelters have the ability and resources to provide safe and appropriate shelter services to those in need. The Task Force had 24 members and met monthly between August 2021 – December 2022. Learn more about the Task Force on Shelter at https://mich.mn.gov/task-force-shelter.
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The Minnesota Department of Health has launched a new website for its Center of Excellence on Public Health and Homelessness: Center of Excellence on Public Health and Homelessness - MN Dept. of Health. The site contains the latest information and resources from the Center of Excellence; resources and guidance documents, organized by topic, for people facing homelessness; and local and national statistics and research on homelessness. The Center of Excellence site is part of a broader new MDH website on public health and homelessness: Public Health and Homelessness - MN Dept. of Health .
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MDH is offering a new therapeutics navigator service to support access to COVID-19 therapeutics in shelters. If you have a shelter guest who tests positive for COVID-19 and who may benefit from medications, you can now request the assistance of a therapeutics navigator to help you and/or the patient access medication. We encourage you to request navigation assistance if you have questions, need coordination support, or if you aren’t sure where to start! To request the support of a therapeutics navigator, complete this navigator request form. Contact the therapeutics navigator, Angela Boice (angela.boice.contractor@state.mn.us) or the COVID-19 Highly Impacted Settings Unit (Health.R-congregate@state.mn.us) if you have any questions or concerns about the therapeutics navigator service.
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Help us spread the word about a new newsletter for engagement opportunities for people who have faced or are currently facing homelessness. The Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness is building a new newsletter list to share opportunities for people who have faced or are currently facing homelessness to share their input, ideas, and expertise. Interested individuals can sign up for the newsletter by filling out this form. We will share a range of opportunities in this newsletter from state agencies and partner organizations and the newsletter will be sent out as opportunities are available. Please email elizabeth.dressel@state.mn.us.if you have any questions.
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