Page posted: 4/17/25

Deficit Reduction Act, 2005 (PL 109), sec. 6071 (PDF), Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010 §2403 (PDF), Minn. Stat. §256B.04, subd. 20

Costs for finding housing and employment: MHM service a person may choose to receive. The service can include costs related to transportation, meals and lodging. The service must be:

Transition coordination: MHM service that provides coordination of activities to support a person who resides in a qualified institution to gain access to medical, social, education, financial, housing and other services and supports that are necessary to move to the community. For more information, refer to MHM Manual – Transition coordination.

Transition coordinator: Professional who carries out the transition coordination service and supports a person to move from a qualified institution to the community with MHM.

Lead agency: County, tribal nation or managed care organization (MCO).

Companion: Person who provides supervision, socialization and non-medical care to a person age 0 to 21. A companion could be one of the following:

Pre-transition

A person is eligible to receive costs for finding housing and employment pre-transition if they meet all the following criteria:

Waiver interaction

The person is not enrolled in a home and community-based services (HCBS) waiver program while they are in an institution, so there is no overlap in pre-transition MHM costs for finding housing and employment.

Post-transition

A person is eligible to receive costs for finding employment for up to 365/366 days after their move into the community if they meet all the following criteria:

Waiver interaction

If the person enrolls in an HCBS waiver program, they may choose to receive post-transition MHM costs for finding employment in addition to their waiver services.

Pre-transition

Covered items for housing and employment include:

1. Costs for the transition coordinator:

2. Costs for the person receiving services:

3. Costs for the individual accompanying the person (i.e., companion):

Note: MHM allows a person age 0 to 21 to have one companion, if needed and identified in the TPT.

Post-transition

Covered items for employment include:

1. Costs for the transition coordinator:

2. Costs for the person receiving services:

3. Costs for the individual accompanying the person (i.e., companion):

Note: MHM allows a person age 0 to 21 to have one companion, if needed and identified in the TPT.

This MHM service does not cover:

Costs for finding housing and employment must be reasonable and necessary expenses for a person to establish their basic living arrangement.

The total available funds per day for meals cannot exceed:

The total available funds per day for lodging cannot exceed:

Non-emergency transportation is reimbursed at the IRS standard mileage rate, per mile.

Transportation/ancillary (e.g., parking fees, tolls, other costs) are reimbursed at actual costs.

There are no exceptions to these limitations.

Appropriate mealtime is based on community standards.

Each meal expense must be incurred in one sitting.

Lodging expenses must be incurred at a licensed business, as defined in Minn. Stat. §157.15, that provides overnight sleeping accommodations.

The provider must:

License requirements

The provider must be one of the following:

Background studies

Minn. Stat. Ch. 245C requires a licensed program to conduct background studies. Providers who have direct contact with the person must have a completed background study (for a complete list, refer to Minn. Stat. §245D.03). A provider must complete and submit individual background studies using New Electronically Transmitted Study (NETStudy) through DHS licensing.

Service authorization

A service authorization is not required for costs for finding housing and employment pre- and post-transition.

Rate

The lead agency or provider claims the actual cost of the items purchased. The rates cannot exceed the rate limit in Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Service Rate Limits, DHS-3945 (PDF).

For ancillary expenses related to travel and lodging, use the most cost-effective method. For example, when purchasing parking, consider the rate for in or out multiple times per day, daily rate, weekly rate or monthly rate.

Billing

The provider must: