The Minnesota Department of Human Services will be updating its Statewide Transition Plan for the Home and Community-Based Settings (HCBS) Rule and putting it out for public comment on Sept. 10. 

Those of you engaged in the process of coming into compliance with the HCBS Settings Rule, including completing the required Attestation, experiencing site visits, and awaiting heightened scrutiny if you are a location that is presumed not to be a HCBS setting, may recall that the Statewide Transition Plan (STP) has only received initial approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).  

Minnesota is hoping for final approval from CMS based on the following criteria:

• Summary of completed and validated site-specific assessments, including aggregated outcomes completed;
• Draft remediation strategies with timelines for resolution by the end of the transition period (March 17, 2022);
• Detailed plan for identifying and evaluating those settings presumed to have institutional characteristics;
• Process for communicating with people who are currently in settings that cannot or will not come into compliance by March 17, 2022;
• Description of ongoing monitoring and quality assurance to ensure all settings remain in full compliance with the settings criteria;
• Updated version of the Statewide Transition Plan is posted for minimum 30-day public comment period. 

DHS has recently updated the HCBS Transition Webpage with information about desk audits and site visits. These updates can be found under Latest Information/What’s New.