Probate & Trust Law Section Conference Manual ... - Minnesota CLE

NF (28) (166)
EW (1,630) (3,396)
CADI (271) (554)
AC (136) (248)
TOTALS (2,064) (4,364))
The NF LOF realignment will not affect Brain Injury (BI) program
eligibles because DHS believes that all BI eligibles will meet the increased
level of care criteria.
6. In place of medical assistance, some disqualified individuals would receive
benefits under the Essential Community Supports (ECS) Program. The
ECS program would provide specific services for persons age 65 and older
who are not eligible for medical assistance but meet Alternative Care (AC)
financial eligibility criteria. ECS will provide up to $400 per person per
month for an assessed need for care coordination and one or more of four
services which are deemed most needed to maintain independence in the
community: personal emergency response systems, homemaker services,
chore services, and caregiver support and education. Nutrition services,
including home-delivered meals and congregate dining, would be available
to ECS participants through the Older Americans Act Title III funding. 28
Conference Report amendments would add a one-time benefit of $600 in a
twelve month period to provide case management services to help a
person's transition to ECS.
7. To implement the new strategy, which became known as the "NF LOC
Initiative," the State first had to develop objective criteria for determining
level of need. Prior screenings relied mostly on the subjective opinions of
physicians and other screeners to determine whether an individual needed
nursing home placement.
8. To implement the new strategy, which was originally supposed to take
effect on January 1, 2011, 29 the Aging and Adult Services Division and the
Disability Services Division of the Minnesota Department of Human
Services convened a stakeholder work group composed of representatives
of various lead agencies and interest groups.
28 DHS Essential Community Supports Program Fact Sheet dated September 26, 2010.
29 The implementation date for the NF LOC changes has been delayed every year since its
original passage. The change is now supposed to become effective on or after July 1, 2012, in
recognition of the delay in receiving approval of the requested waiver. Laws of 2012, Ch.
247, Art. 4, Sec. 52 (SF 2294).
24