Housing Stabilization Services

Revised: April 1, 2024

· Overview

· Eligible Providers

· Eligible Members

· Covered Services

· Billing

· Managed Care Members

· Legal References

Overview

Housing Stabilization Services is a Medical Assistance benefit to help people with disabilities and seniors find and keep housing. Housing Stabilization Services are state plan (not waiver) Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS).

Eligible Providers

To be eligible to provide, bill and be paid by Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) for Housing Consultation, Housing Transition, Moving Expenses and Housing Sustaining services under Housing Stabilization Services, providers must meet the requirements and submit the forms listed on the Housing Stabilization Services Enrollment Criteria and Forms provider enrollment webpage.

MN–ITS and Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

MHCP requires you to register for a MN−ITS account. You will receive a Welcome Letter with your MN−ITS registration information after you are approved as an MHCP-enrolled provider. Providers are responsible to verify MHCP member eligibility before providing a service (or at least once per month if billing monthly or for multiple services provided in one calendar month). You can choose to verify eligibility online through MN–ITS or the phone IVR.

Eligible Members

A member is eligible for housing stabilization services if they meet all of the following needs-based criteria:

· Be on Medical Assistance (MA)

· Be 18 years old or older

· Have a documented disability or disabling condition, defined as one of the following:

· A person who is aged, blind or has a disability as described under Title II of the Social Security Act.

· A person with an injury or illness that is expected to cause extended or long-term incapacitation.

· A person with a developmental disability (or related condition) or mental illness.

· A person with a mental health condition, substance use disorder or physical injury that required a residential level of care and who is now in the process of transitioning to the community.

· A person who is determined to have a learning disability according to policy adopted by Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS); or

· A person with a substance use disorder and is enrolled in a treatment program or is on a waiting list for a treatment program.

· Be assessed to require assistance with at least one of the following areas resulting from the presence of a disability or a long-term or indefinite condition:

· Communication

· Mobility

· Decision-making; or

· Managing challenging behaviors

· Be experiencing housing instability, evidenced by one of the following risk factors:

· Homeless. An individual or family is considered homeless when they lack a fixed, adequate nighttime residence; or

· Currently transitioning, or has recently transitioned, from an institution or licensed or registered setting (registered housing with services facility, board and lodge, boarding care, adult foster care or community residential setting, hospital, Intermediate Care Facility for persons with Developmental Disabilities (ICF/DD), intensive residential treatment services, the Minnesota Security Hospital, nursing facility, regional treatment center); or

· At risk of homelessness. An individual or family is at risk of homelessness when

a) the individual or family is faced with a situation or set of circumstances likely to cause the household to become homeless, including but not limited to: doubled-up living arrangements where the individual’s name is not on a lease, living in a condemned building without a place to move, having arrears in rent or utility payments, receiving an eviction notice without a place to move or living in temporary or transitional housing that carries time limits; or

b) the person, previously homeless, will be discharged from a correctional, medical, mental health or substance use disorder treatment center and lacks sufficient resources to pay for housing, and does not have a permanent place to live; would be at risk of homelessness if housing services were removed

· At risk of institutionalization – meets an intuitional level of care/eligible for the following waivers:

· Brain Injury (BI)

· Community Access for Disability Inclusion (CADI)

· Community Alternative Care (CAC)

· Developmental Disability (DD)

· Elderly Waiver (EW)

Enrolling Eligible Members

People who need housing stabilization services can self refer or be supported by a provider or case manager. If a person has a targeted case manager or waiver case manager, that case manager may support them to access services, or the person can self refer and contact a housing stabilization services provider directly to help them receive housing stabilization services.

Housing Stabilization Services providers will submit eligibility documentation and assessment outcomes for the Housing Stabilization Services program through the Housing Stabilization Services Eligibility Request (DHS-7948) online form to determine medical need for services when providing housing consultation, housing transition, moving expenses or housing sustaining. This includes:

· An assessment (MNChoices, Professional Statement of Need (PSN), or coordinated entry) not more than 12 months old at Housing Stabilization Services eligibility review.

· Proof of disability (PSN, medical opinion form, SSI/SSDI recipient)

· Person-Centered Plan (community services and support plan, coordinated care plan (seniors), Housing-Focused Person-Centered Plan)

Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) staff will use the results of the independent assessment to determine whether the member meets the needs-based criteria to receive this service. After needs-based criteria is determined, DHS will notify the provider through the MN−ITS mailbox and the member via U.S. Postal Service that services may start. The notification will be a letter of approval or denial for Housing Stabilization Services.

This same process is used for initial evaluation and reevaluation. Providers will use the Housing Stabilization Services Eligibility Request (DHS-7948) online form to submit member information for review.

Covered Services

The following services are provided within Housing Stabilization Services. Refer to the Housing Stabilization Services policy manual webpage for information about each service that includes, service description, covered and noncovered services when applicable, limitations and provider standards and qualifications.

· Housing Stabilization Consultation – service to develop a person-centered plan for people without MA case management services.

· Housing Stabilization Transition – service that supports a person to find housing.

· Moving Expenses – may be available to a person receiving Housing Stabilization-Transition services who are transitioning out of a Medicaid-funded institution or leaving a provider-operated living arrangement and moving into their own home. Refer to Moving Expenses on the Housing Stabilization Services policy webpage for information about moving expenses.

· Housing Stabilization Sustaining – service that supports a person to maintain housing.

Impact to other services

Housing Stabilization Services might impact other services a person may be receiving. Refer to the Housing Stabilization Services policy manual webpage for more information on impact to other services.

Home and community-based service rule conflict of interest and exception

Housing stabilization services must adhere to the Home and Community-based services conflict of interest requirement. This requirement states that the agency that assesses a person or creates a person’s person-centered service plan cannot be the same agency that provides the housing transition or housing sustaining service unless there is a DHS approved agency exception. Refer to the Housing Stabilization Services policy manual webpage for more information about conflict of interest and the state exception rules.

Billing

Housing stabilization services agencies must follow general MHCP billing policies and guidelines in the MHCP Billing Policy Overview section when submitting claims to MHCP. Check for member eligibility in MN−ITS or the phone interactive voice response. If a member is assigned to a Managed Care Organization (MCO), refer to the Managed Care Members section to find links for MCO billing requirements.

Documentation requirements

Providers must follow home and community-based services documentation requirements (refer to Minnesota Statutes, 256B.4912, subdivision 12):

· Documentation may be collected and maintained electronically or on paper by providers and must be produced upon request by the commissioner.

· Documentation of a delivered service must be in English and legible.

· If the service is reimbursed at an hourly or specified minute-based rate, documentation, unless otherwise specified, must include:

· the date the documentation occurred;

· the day, month, and year the service was provided;

· the start and stop times with a.m. and p.m. designations, except for person-centered planning services

· the service name or description of the service provided; and

· the name, signature, and title, if any, of the service provider. If the service is provided by multiple staff members, the provider may designate a staff member responsible for verifying services and completing the documentation

· method of contact

· place of service (office or community, for example) when remote support service delivery occurs

When submitting claims to DHS for housing stabilization services, do the following:

· Use MN−ITS Direct Data Entry (DDE) or your own X12 compliance software (batch billing system).

· Use the MN–ITS Professional (837P) claim. Refer to the MN–ITS User Guide for claim completion instructions.

· Bill only for services already provided.

Housing Stabilization Services Codes, Rates and Descriptions

Service Description	Rate	Procedure Code	Unit
Housing Consultation	$174.22	T2024 U8*	Per session
Housing Transition	$17.17	H2015 U8*	Per 15-minute unit
Housing Sustaining	$17.17	H2015 U8/TS*	Per 15-minute unit
Moving Expenses	Up to $3,000	T2038 U8	One unit per line

* Include U4 modifier if billing for remote support

Remote Support
Add modifier U4 to any consultation or transition or sustaining claim submission in MN–ITS when billing direct/remote support units. Housing consultation is billed using only one unit. Use the U4 modifier on the claim submission if any portion of housing consultation has been done remotely.

Direct/Remote support is limited to no more than 50% of the annual Direct Support provision for transition and sustaining services. Any Direct/Remote support units billed should be on a separate line from other Direct/In Person or Indirect services provided. Refer to the Housing Stabilization Services: Direct, Indirect and Remote Services Chart (PDF) for information about service limits.

Moving Expenses
Housing Stabilization Services Moving Expenses are a component of Housing Stabilization-Transition Services. Moving Expenses are reimbursed to providers for certain expenses paid for people who are receiving Housing Stabilization-Transition services. Members must be transitioning out of a Medicaid-funded institution or leaving a provider-operated living arrangement and moving into their own home.

Moving expenses must be approved and clearly identified in the Housing Focused Person-Centered plan, Coordinated Support Services Plan or Coordinated Care Plan. Refer to Moving Expenses on the Housing Stabilization Services policy webpage for information about member qualifications, eligible living situations, what is covered and not covered, limitations, and provider responsibilities. Moving expenses are non-recurring and capped a maximum of $3,000 within an approved Housing Stabilization Services eligibility span.

To bill and be reimbursed for Housing Stabilization Services moving expenses, providers must include an electronic claim attachment with their MN–ITS claim. The Attachment Control Number entered on the MN–ITS claim must match the Attachment Control Number on the AUC cover sheet the provider will fax to DHS with supporting receipts. Review the Electronic claim attachments webpage for MHCP attachment criteria and refer to the video module Sending an Attachment for a MN–ITS Claim for a demonstration. Receipts must be for covered expenses only and must include the items, the name of the organization where the items were purchased, the date and the amount of the purchase. The amount of the receipt must equal the line-item amount entered on the claim. Do not include noncovered items on the receipts you are submitting.

Bill multiple purchases that occur on the same date using the total amount of the purchases for the line-item charge and bill only one unit.

Limits
Housing consultation services are available once annually. Additional sessions are allowed if a person wants to change housing transition or housing sustaining providers or experiences a significant change in circumstance that requires a new person-centered plan.

Housing Transition services are limited to 150 hours per transition. Moving Expenses are non-recurring and limited to a maximum of $3,000 within an approved Housing Stabilization Services eligibility span.

Housing Sustaining services are limited to 150 hours annually.

Providers may request an additional 150 hours beyond these limits and DHS will determine necessity.

Billing Procedure Codes
To bill 15-minute procedure codes for time spent providing Housing Transition or Housing Sustaining services, you must provide at least 8 minutes. For example: If you provide a service for at least 8 through 22 minutes, bill that service as one unit. If you provide the same service for at least 23 minutes, bill that service for at least two units, and so on.

Housing Consultation is a session code and must be billed as one unit.

Diagnosis Codes for Housing Stabilization Services

Disability	Diagnosis Code
Developmental disability	F84.9
Learning disability	F81.89
Mental illness	F99
Physical illness, injury or impairment	R69
Chemical dependency	F19.20

Managed Care Members

Providers must first enroll with MHCP before they can enroll with Managed Care Organizations (MCOs). Contact the MCO for their billing guidelines. Refer to the Housing Stabilization Services policy page for MCO contacts and information specific for Housing Stabilization Services.

Legal References

Minnesota Statutes, 256B.051
Minnesota Statutes, 245.462
Minnesota Statutes, 245.461 to 245.468
Minnesota Statutes, 256B.0625, subdivision 20
Minnesota Statutes, 256B.4912, subdivision 12
Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, section 441.730