Purpose

• Create a new Department of Human Services unit called the home and community-based services early and often licensor and compliance team.
• The goal is to provide proactive, coordinated help to applicants applying for licenses and to license holders during the first year of operating a licensed home and community-based services program.

Main Provisions

• Establishment and staffing

  • The commissioner must establish and maintain the early and often licensor and compliance team.
  • The team must have enough staff and resources and include members with expertise in licensing, Medical Assistance enrollment, service delivery, and Medical Assistance billing.

• Technical assistance and guidance

  • The team will provide technical assistance to applicants for license applications under this chapter and under chapter 256D, and to Medical Assistance enrollment applications under section 256B.04, subdivision 21.

• Onsite and remote support schedule

  • An initial technical assistance visit must occur three months after the effective date of an initial license to help the license holder achieve and maintain compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations.
  • Three unscheduled visits are required after the beginning of the sixth calendar month, continuing through the eighteenth month after the initial license is issued.

• Compliance review and recommendations

  • If noncompliance is found during the technical assistance visit or any of the following three unscheduled visits, and the issue does not imminently endanger health, safety, or rights of people served, the team may issue a licensing and compliance review report with recommendations to achieve and maintain compliance.

• Authority and limits

  • The new team’s activities do not limit the commissioner’s existing authority to suspend or revoke a license, issue fines under section 245A.07, issue correction orders, or condition a license under section 245A.06 for noncompliance.
  • The commissioner can impose sanctions under section 256B.064 depending on the nature, duration, and severity of violations and their impact on health, safety, or rights.

• Legal and program scope references

  • The team’s work relates to licensing requirements and the provision and reimbursement of home and community-based services, including connections to chapters 245D, 256B, and 256S and waiver plans.
  • Observes and enforces rules and regulations under the cited statutes and may affect licensing, enrollment, service delivery, and billing practices.

What this bill seeks to accomplish

• Reduce noncompliance and improve quality by providing structured, proactive support during the critical first year of operation for HCBS programs.
• Streamline and assist in navigating the licensing and Medical Assistance enrollment processes to promote timely compliance and ongoing oversight.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Adds a new Subdivision 7 to Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 245A.042, creating the Home and Community-Based Services Early and Often Licensor and Compliance Team.
• Establishes specific timelines for technical assistance visits (3 months post-license, then three unscheduled visits from month six to month eighteen).
• Defines team composition (licensing, Medical Assistance enrollment, service delivery, and billing expertise) and duties (technical assistance, compliance guidance, and formal recommendations when appropriate).
• Clarifies that this new team supplements but does not replace existing enforcement tools like suspensions, revocations, fines, and correction orders, and allows for sanctions under other sections when appropriate.

Timeline and Process (at a glance)

• Initial license: 3-month technical assistance visit.
• Follow-up: three unscheduled visits between month 6 and month 18.
• If issues are found and not immediately dangerous: licensing and compliance review report with recommendations.
• Enforcement options remain available to the commissioner if noncompliance is serious or ongoing.

Practical Implications

• License applicants and providers can expect more hands-on help with licensing and MA enrollment.
• Early identification of issues may prevent violations and improve care quality for people served.
• Providers face continued accountability through existing enforcement tools, with added guidance and recommended actions from the new team.

Relevant Terms home and community-based services, HCBS, licensor and compliance team, early and often, technical assistance, license applications, initial license, unscheduled visits, licensing and compliance review report, compliance, health safety, rights of persons served, Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 245A.042, licensing requirements, medical assistance enrollment requirements, medical assistance service delivery, medical assistance billing requirements, waiver plans, chapters 245D, 256B, 256S, section 256B.064, section 245A.07, section 245A.06, suspension, revoke, correction orders, conditional license, sanctions.