AASD and DSD eList announcement

Date: March 7, 2023
To: Counties, tribal nations, managed care organizations, providers, people who receive aging and disability services and other interested parties
From: DHS Aging and Adult Services and Disability Services divisions
Purpose: To announce updates to change-in-condition policy for disability wavier programs and functional needs updates for aging programs
Effective: April 3, 2023
Contact: For questions related to disability services, use the DSD Contact Form. For questions related to aging and adult services, email DHS.AASD.HCBS@state.mn.us.

Updates to policy about reassessments for changes in condition

DHS updated policy for change-in-condition reassessments. Effective April 3, 2023, lead agencies will no longer conduct change-in-condition reassessments. This change coincides with the launch of the revised MnCHOICES application.

Lead agencies may do the following to address some short-term changes after an assessment if a person already has an assessed need for supports:

· Realign resources within the person’s current support plan, document changes and ensure the assessor receives the information at the person’s annual reassessment time.

· Use a 45-day temporary increase for state plan personal care assistance (PCA) services (refer to PCA Manual – 45-day temporary increase for PCA services.)

If a person experiences a change in need that cannot be addressed using the above strategies, lead agencies may:

· Conduct an early reassessment. For more information, refer to the annual reassessment section on CBSM – Assessment applicability and timelines.

· Complete a functional needs update if the person is on Alternative Care (AC) or the Elderly Waiver (EW).

Functional needs update for AC and EW

A functional needs update is a remote assessment used by lead agencies to document a change to a person’s assessed need(s) any time during the service year.

With the launch of the revised MnCHOICES application, DHS will introduce the functional needs update assessment type for AC and EW. The functional needs update assessment type replaces the case manager long-term care (LTC) service change activity type.

Certified assessors can use a functional needs update to update a person’s assessment prior to reassessment when the person has a change in functional needs, including changes that will affect their AC or EW case mix budget or establish eligibility for 24-hour customizing living for EW. For a full list of when to use a functional needs update, refer to the functional needs update section on CBSM – Assessment applicability and timelines.

A functional needs update does not replace an annual reassessment, and it does not reset or extend an AC or EW eligibility (service agreement) span. A person may choose to receive a reassessment instead of a functional needs update.

After the launch of MnCHOICES Revision, DHS will provide a transition period to allow lead agencies to complete work in all existing systems. At the end of this transition period, case managers will no longer conduct the LTC service change activity type. DHS also will sunset the related Minnesota Service Change Form for EW and AC Participants, DHS-3428G (PDF).

The MnCHOICES certified assessor training content includes instructions about completing a functional needs update in MnCHOICES. To access this training:

· Staff members who are currently certified assessors: Go to the TrainLink Disability Services Division Learning Center and search the course catalog for course code MNCH301a.

· New staff members: This training is part of the certification (MnCAT step 3). Refer to your mentor for the course link.

The MnCHOICES application produces Activity Type 10 information for entry into MMIS when an assessor completes a functional needs update. All MMIS rules related to Activity Type 10 remain in place.

For more information, refer to the functional needs update section on CBSM – Assessment applicability and timelines.

Previous eList announcements

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