Page reviewed: 12/10/24

Page updated: 12/31/24

Legal authority

Federally approved BI, CAC, CADI, DD and EW waiver plans, Minn. Stat. §256B.0913

Definitions

Allowable expenditure: A good or service that is covered under CDCS and can be purchased using waiver/Alternative Care (AC) funds.

Unallowable expenditure: A good or service that is not covered under CDCS and cannot be purchased using waiver/AC funds.

Allowable expenditures

Criteria for all waiver/AC services

Each person participating in CDCS must develop an individual, written support plan. The waiver/AC can cover only goods and services authorized in the person’s support plan that, together, are a feasible alternative to institutional care.

Because waiver/AC funds pay for covered CDCS goods and services, the goods and services must meet waiver/AC criteria for allowable expenditures. A good or service must meet all of the following criteria:

CDCS-specific policy

Allowable CDCS expenditures may include traditional goods and services available through the state plan, waiver and AC programs, as well as alternatives designed by the person. The following sections provide additional information.

Service categories

Allowable CDCS expenditures must fall into one of the CDCS service categories.

Effective Feb. 1, 2025, DHS will start the rolling implementation of the CDCS unbundling project. This project will:

For information about the four original service categories, refer to CDCS Manual – Service categories (pre-unbundling). For information about the eight new unbundled service categories, refer to CDCS Manual – Unbundled service categories.

For additional information, refer to the Dec. 10, 2024, eList announcement.

Home care and waiver/AC goods and services

For information about purchasing home care and traditional waiver/AC goods and services through CDCS, refer to:

Additional goods and services

In addition to traditional state plan and waiver/AC services and goods, the following are also allowable CDCS expenditures if they meet the allowable waiver expenditure criteria and fit into one of the service categories:

CDCS can cover goods and services that support the person’s assessed needs for community integration and inclusion, as long as the goods and services meet the criteria on this page and are not listed in the unallowable section. For information about the unbundled service category that allows people to hire workers directly for community support, refer to CDCS Manual – Unbundled service category: Community integration and support.

Unallowable expenditures

Criteria for all waiver/AC services

The waiver/AC does not cover goods and services when they:

Other funding sources

The waiver/AC cannot be used for good/services that are available through other funding sources, including, but not limited to:

“Available” means the good/service is funded by the other source, regardless of the person’s eligibility, provider preference (i.e., person wants services from non-enrolled provider), desire for an upgraded version of a comparable covered item, responsible third-party payer or convenience.

If a good/service is available through another source, the person must work with the entity responsible for funding that good/service to access it. If the person is not eligible or the good/service is denied, the person must follow the reconsideration or appeal process.

CDCS-specific policy

Unallowable CDCS expenditures include: