Managed Care for People with Disabilities

Posted: November 9, 2026

People with disabilities have multiple options to choose from to meet their health care needs. Enrollees can select Special Needs BasicCare (SNBC), a voluntary managed care program for people with disabilities. Or enrollees have the option to opt out of health plan enrollment and receive their Medical Assistance (MA) fee for service (FFS).

To enroll in SNBC, the enrollee must:

· Be eligible for Medical Assistance. 

· Be age 18 through age 64.

· Have no Medicare or be enrolled in both Medicare Parts A and B.

· Be certified as having a disability through the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the State Medical Review Team (SMRT).

Depending on the county where the enrollee lives, there may or may not be more than one health plan that offers SNBC. Some health plans offer incentives for this population, such as fitness programs or discounts. Enrollees can contact each health plan directly if they want more information on incentives or discounts provided.

Page Contents

Non-Integrated SNBC and Integrated SNBC
Non-Integrated SNBC Enrollment Process
Integrated SNBC Enrollment Process
SNBC Enrollment Packet Contents
Integrated SNBC Denial and Rejections Information
When to call Minnesota Aging Pathways
When to call Disability Hub MN™

Non-Integrated SNBC and Integrated SNBC

There are two SNBC programs available for enrollees with a certified disability. They are the non-integrated and integrated SNBC programs.

Non-Integrated: With a non-integrated SNBC program, the enrollee receives their MA benefits through a health plan. If the enrollee is enrolled in Medicare, they will receive their MA and Medicare benefits separately. Eligible enrollees will be automatically enrolled in a non-integrated health plan unless they opt out. Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) staff enters enrollment information into MMIS.

Integrated: With an integrated SNBC program, the enrollee’s MA and Medicare benefits are both administered by the same health plan. To be eligible to enroll in the integrated SNBC program, the enrollee must be enrolled in both Medicare Parts A and B. DHS staff enters enrollment information into MMIS.

Non-Integrated SNBC Enrollment Process

The following outlines the health plan enrollment for non-integrated SNBC after county or Tribal health care workers have determined enrollee eligibility:

1. Eligibility information is entered into MMIS by county or Tribal health care workers.

2. A county or Tribal health care worker reviews the case and determines if the enrollee meets criteria to be excluded from managed care and instead falls under FFS:

a. If yes, the county or Tribal health care worker enters an exclusion code on the RPPH screen in MMIS.

b. If no, the county or Tribal health care worker enters a “BB” exclusion on the RPPH screen in MMIS for the current month.

3. A county or Tribal health care worker or MMIS adds a tracking span on the RTRK screen in MMIS to initiate the enrollment process. The section, Tracking System within MMIS in this manual, has more information on the enrollment and tracking process.

4. In an overnight batch job MMIS generates an enrollment form for enrollees with a disability basis of eligibility and a BB exclusion on RPPH.

5. DHS sends an enrollment packet to eligible enrollees.

a. Contents of the packet are listed in the SNBC Enrollment Packet Contents section.

6. A county or Tribal worker provides education to the enrollee about managed care and health plan selection, also known as choice counseling.

7. The enrollee completes the SNBC Choice Form from DHS, by indicating on the form either their chosen health plan or that they would like to opt out of the non-integrated SNBC program and keep their FFS MA.

a. Counties, Tribes and enrollees return completed SNBC Choice forms to DHS by doing one of the following:

i. Submit the Non-Integrated Special Needs BasicCare Choice Form (DHS-6451B) online.

ii. Counties and Tribes can submit forms via the online Partners and Providers Portal (DHS-8147A). This method is not available to enrollees.

iii. Send paper forms to:

Managed Care – Department of Human Services
PO Box 64838
St. Paul, MN 55164-0838

iv. Fax the paper form to: 651-431-7464

b. If the enrollee does not respond with a health plan choice or a request to opt out, they will be defaulted into a plan. The section, Default Health Plan Enrollment Process in this manual, has more information on this process.

8. DHS updates MMIS with the selected health plan for the next available month based on the Managed Care Enrollment Cut-Off Date section in this manual and adds a case note in MMIS that includes the enrollee’s name(s) and health plan choice.

9. DHS will mail:

a. A Notice of Health Plan Enrollment indicating what health plan they are enrolled in and the effective date.

b. A Minnesota Health Care Program (MHCP) ID card for each enrollee.

10. The health plan will mail additional information and a health plan ID card to the enrollee.

Integrated SNBC Enrollment Process

The following outlines the health plan enrollment process for integrated SNBC after county or Tribal health care workers have determined enrollee eligibility:

1. The enrollee contacts the integrated SNBC health plan themselves and requests enrollment into the integrated SNBC program.

2. The enrollee may contact Disability Hub MN™ at 866-333-2466 or use their preferred relay service to assist them to review their current benefits and compare their options. Disability Hub MN™ cannot enroll an enrollee into an integrated SNBC health plan.

3. Integrated SNBC enrollees will receive enrollment confirmation notices.

There are no DHS forms for enrolling into an integrated SNBC plan. Health plans have their own forms. Enrollees will not be defaulted into an integrated SNBC plan.

SNBC Enrollment Packet Contents

The enrollment packet for SNBC contains the following documents:

· MMIS-generated SNBC Choice Form

· SNBC Managed Care Enrollment Guide (DHS-5567) (PDF)

· SNBC Managed Care for People with Disabilities (DHS-6301) (PDF)

· Managed Care Summary of Coverage, Cost Sharing and Limits for SNBC (DHS-4858B) (PDF)

· MHCP return envelope

· DHS-3320B mailing envelope (can only be ordered by DHS)

If an enrollee reports they have lost their enrollment form the SNBC Choice Form (DHS-6451B) must be completed online by the enrollee or the processing entity.

SNBC enrollees can review their health plan choices online at the DHS Special Needs BasicCare Directory.

Integrated SNBC Denial and Rejection Information

An applicant’s enrollment into integrated SNBC may be delayed if the enrollment form is incomplete. Missing information includes a missing signature, not having Medicare eligibility, a missing plan selection and so forth. The enrollee will be given a due date to provide the missing information on the enrollment form.

Integrated SNBC requires a complete enrollment form to enroll, and final approval depends on the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) guidelines. If CMS rejects the enrollment, the person will receive a letter with further information and instructions. If CMS rejects an enrollee’s integrated SNBC enrollment, the enrollee will be enrolled into non-integrated SNBC.

Enrollees who are interested in integrated SNBC must complete the enrollment process with their chosen health plan. If they do not, they will remain in non-integrated SNBC.

Choice Counseling

County and Tribal workers should be familiar with the SNBC plans available in their county and which programs are available based on the enrollee’s eligibility type. County and Tribal workers are expected to give general guidance to enrollees with questions on which SNBC option to choose. Choice counseling does not include making recommendations for or against enrollment into a specific health plan.

If an enrollee has further questions, the county or Tribal worker may refer them to Minnesota Aging Pathways or the Disability Hub MN™ as appropriate.

When to Call Minnesota Aging Pathways

Processing entities can refer enrollees with questions to Minnesota Aging Pathways at 800-333-2433 this call is free) for counseling on Medicare products.

Enrollees may call Minnesota Aging Pathways to:

· Understand their Medicare benefits.

· Select a new Medicare Part D drug plan. This will disenroll the enrollee from their current Minnesota Senior Health Options (MSHO) plan and move them into Minnesota Senior Care Plus (MSC+).

When to call Disability Hub MN™

Processing entities can refer enrollees with questions to Disability Hub MN™ at 866-33-2466 or online at disabilityhubmn.org for questions about choosing an SNBC health plan.

Disability Hub MN™ can help enrollees:

· Review their current health care benefits and compare options.

· Understand what SNBC is and how it differs from FFS.

· Understand SNBC non-integrated enrollment, disenrollment and opt-out options.

· Contact a health plan for Integrated SNBC enrollment or disenrollment.