MDH Modifies Home Care and Assisted Living Licensing, Survey and Enforcement

Posted on July 28, 2020 by Bobbie Guidry

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has modified certain requirements for home care licensing, survey and enforcement activities. The modifications are allowed based on Emergency Executive Order 20-32  issued on April 8. 

The modifications are allowed based on Emergency Executive Order 20-32  issued on April 8. The modifications to these standards can be found on the Home Care and Assisted Living Program website. 

Included in the licensing modifications:

• Suspending all new applications and in-progress applications for temporary home care licenses. This also applies to new and renewing Housing with Services Registrations.
• Extending licenses of providers who currently have a comprehensive or basic home care license in good standing and allow renewal at a later time.
• Extending existing temporary home care licenses as needed to allow for an initial full survey for providers who have submitted a notice of providing services. Note: If you have an active temporary license, you must submit a notice of providing services to Home Care and Assisted Living Program (HCALP) within five days of beginning the provision of home care services (Minn. Stat. §144A.473, subd. 2(c)). Your temporary license will then be extended until HCALP conducts an initial full survey.

Modifications to survey and enforcement activities for Home Care and Assisted Living:

• Issuing correction orders and notice of fines within a reasonable time following survey.
• Allowing exceptions to the statutory timeframe requirements for providers to request reconsideration and for the Home Care and Assisted Living Program to respond to these requests.
• Suspending invoicing of fines assessed pursuant to survey.
• Waiving timeframe requirements for all survey types.

This waiver will be for the period of the peacetime emergency and up to 60 days past the end of that emergency.

Impact of New Housing with Services Registration Delays

LeadingAge Minnesota has raised with MDH the concern that several providers had submitted Housing with Services registrations for new settings that were not processed before the suspension was implemented. This prevents enrolling a provider of HCBS Waiver services so that individuals needing waiver funding to pay for services cannot receive services at that location under the Customized Living program. It also causes denial of payment for individuals who have long-term care insurance. We will continue to advocate for processing of these registrations.