HF4639

Purpose

Establish a specialized team within the Department of Human Services to provide proactive, hands-on support to people applying for home and community-based services licenses and to license holders during the first year of operation. The goal is to help applicants complete license applications and MA enrollment, and to help new programs meet all licensing and funding requirements.

What this bill adds (Main provisions)

• Creates the home and community-based services early and often licensor and compliance team to assist with the licensing process and MA enrollment.
• The team must have enough staff and resources, with expertise in:
  • licensing requirements
  • medical assistance enrollment requirements
  • medical assistance service delivery requirements
  • medical assistance billing requirements
• The team provides technical assistance to applicants for license applications (under this chapter and chapter 256D) and for MA enrollment applications (section 256B.04, subdivision 21).
• Timeline for new licensees:
  • An initial scheduled technical assistance visit occurs three months after the initial license becomes effective to help the license holder achieve and maintain compliance.
  • Three unscheduled visits occur after the start of the sixth calendar month following the initial license, continuing until the end of the eighteenth month.
• If noncompliance is found during these visits (and the violation does not immediately endanger health, safety, or rights), the team may issue a licensing and compliance review report with recommendations to achieve and maintain compliance.
• The bill clarifies that these provisions do not limit the commissioner’s existing authority to:
  • suspend or revoke a license or issue a fine under section 245A.07
  • issue correction orders or make a license conditional under section 245A.06
  • impose a sanction under section 256B.064, based on the violation’s nature, chronicity, severity, and impact on health, safety, or rights
• This is an amendment to Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 245A.042 by adding Subdivision 7.

How this changes existing law

• Adds a formal, proactive support team (the “home and community-based services early and often licensor and compliance team”) to assist with licensing and MA enrollment, specifically targeting the first year of operation for licensed home and community-based programs.
• Establishes a defined schedule of technical assistance visits (one three-month, then three unscheduled visits within 6–18 months) and a mechanism to document and address noncompliance through a licensing and compliance review report.
• Integrates this support with existing licensing, service delivery, and MA-related requirements across multiple chapters (245A, 245D, 256B, 256S, and related waiver plans) while preserving the department’s existing enforcement tools.

Implementation considerations

• Requires sufficient staffing and resources to support the team’s duties.
• The team must include members with specialized knowledge in licensing, MA enrollment, service delivery, and MA billing.
• Provides a pathway to improve compliance without replacing enforcement tools when issues arise.

Relevant Terms

• home and community-based services (HCBS)
• early and often licensor and compliance team
• technical assistance
• license applications
• medical assistance enrollment requirements
• medical assistance service delivery requirements
• medical assistance billing requirements
• initial license
• three-month technical assistance visit
• unscheduled visits
• licensing and compliance review report
• correction orders
• suspension or revocation of license
• fines
• section 245A.07
• section 245A.06
• section 256B.064
• waiver plans
• Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 245A.042
• chapter 256D
• chapter 256B
• chapter 245D
• section 256B.04 subdivision 21

Relevant Terms HCBS, licensor and compliance team, technical assistance, initial license, MA enrollment, MA billing, license application, unscheduled visits, licensing and compliance review report, correction orders, suspension, revocation, fines, waiver plans, Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 245A.042, 245A.06, 245A.07, 256B.064, 256D, 256B, 245D.