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Joint message from DHS Aging and Adult Services, Behavioral Health and Disability Services divisions

Date: Jan. 6, 2022
To: Lead agencies, nursing facilities, hospitals and interested parties
From: DHS Aging and Adult Services, Behavioral Health and Disability Services divisions
Purpose: To announce that changes to OBRA Level I policy, forms and the Senior LinkAge Line referral process are live
Effective: Immediately
Contact: senior.linkage@state.mn.us, dsd.obra@state.mn.us or dhs.mh.pasrr@state.mn.us

Live now: Updates to OBRA Level I, DHS-3426 and Senior LinkAge Line referrals

Effective immediately, DHS and the Minnesota Board on Aging have updated the OBRA Level I policy, OBRA Level I Criteria – Screening for Developmental Disabilities or Mental Illness, DHS-3426 and Senior LinkAge Line online referrals (including preadmission screening) based on federal guidelines and feedback from lead agencies and providers.

Policy and form changes

Key policy and form changes include:

· Simplified mental health questions

· Updated forms to only require one “yes” mental health question to trigger an OBRA Level II evaluation (rather than all three) to meet federal requirements
(Note: This could lead to an increase in OBRA Level II evaluations for mental illness.)

· Removal of the fourth developmental disability question: “Has the person been referred for nursing or boarding care facility placement by an agency that serves people with a developmental disability or related condition?”

For all assessments after Jan. 5, 2022, lead agencies must use OBRA Level I Criteria – Screening for Developmental Disabilities or Mental Illness, DHS-3426 until the revised MnCHOICES application launches. The new OBRA Level I content is not available in the current version of the MnCHOICES Assessment. If the lead agency completed an assessment before Jan. 5, 2022, the OBRA Level I evaluation completed at the time of that assessment can be used for a person seeking nursing facility admission.

Senior LinkAge Line changes

There is a new website for the Senior LinkAge Line’s preadmission screening (PAS) and other referrals: Senior LinkAge Line referral website. The previous referral page will redirect to the new website for a short time, so it is important to bookmark the new website’s URL.

The new Senior LinkAge Line referral website has a new general assistance referral option to provide help to older adults (e.g., information, transition assistance, other assistance). It is much more open and streamlined, so anyone can make a referral with the person’s consent.

As always, the person must be informed about the PAS referral before submission. The Senior LinkAge Line created an informational card about the PAS that providers can share with the person. Call the Senior LinkAge Line at 800-333-2433 to request free copies for distribution.

Questions

If you have questions about these changes, contact:

· Senior LinkAge Line: senior.linkage@state.mn.us

· OBRA Level II DD: dsd.obra@state.mn.us

· OBRA Level II MI: dhs.mh.pasrr@state.mn.us.

Previous eList announcements

AASD LEAD AGENCY ARCHIVE | DSD LEAD AGENCY ARCHIVE | DSD STAKEHOLDER ARCHIVE

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