AASD and DSD eList announcement

Date: April 14, 2026
To: Lead agency staff and other interested parties
From: DHS Aging and Adult Services and Disability Services divisions
Purpose: To announce the federally approved waiver amendments that impact MnCHOICES assessments
Contact: For questions about disability waivers, use the DSD Contact Form. For questions about Alternative Care (AC), Essential Community Supports (ECS) and Elderly Waiver (EW), email dhs.aasd.hcbs@state.mn.us.

Federally approved waiver amendments that impact MnCHOICES assessments

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved two MnCHOICES assessment-related changes. DHS announced these changes in the March 31, 2026, eList announcement and the Dec. 30, 2025, eList announcement. We provide additional information below.

Changes related to MnCHOICES assessments

CMS approved the following two changes related to MnCHOICES assessments:

1. MnCHOICES certified assessor qualifications

Effective July 1, 2026, the minimum education requirement for certified assessors is an associate degree, per Minn. Stat. §256B.0911.

2. Lead agency ability to contract with hospitals to perform initial MnCHOICES assessments

Lead agencies may contract with licensed hospitals to perform initial MnCHOICES assessments. The hospital employees who perform MnCHOICES assessments:

· Must be certified as assessors.

· Cannot perform waiver-related tasks beyond conducting initial assessments.

The lead agency is still responsible for MnCHOICES assessment oversight, compliance and quality assurance.

Note: Lead agencies that are interested in this option must submit a MnCHOICES Help Desk Contact Form, DHS-6979 by April 28, 2026. Under “question type,” choose “policy.” Lead agencies must wait for instructions from DHS before they implement this policy.

Next steps

DHS will update:

· Policy manuals to reflect these changes.

· CBSM – What’s new when we implement the changes.

Summary of changes that CMS did not approve

CMS did not approve the following MnCHOICES assessment-related policy changes:

· Verbal attestation to replace reassessment signatures.

· Allowance for people ages 21 to 64 to attest to no changes in needs or services for reassessment.

DHS submitted these changes to CMS, but we will not implement them because CMS did not approve them. We are working to update Minn. Stat. §256B.0911, subd. 24(a) and Minn. Stat. §256B.0911, subd. 25(a) accordingly.

Previous eList announcements

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