Minnesota Medicaid home care: CFSS, PCA and what we could verify

Minnesota pays for personal care at home through Medicaid. State law says Community First Services and Supports (CFSS) replaces the personal care assistance (PCA) program upon federal approval. We could not read the Department of Human Services (DHS) program pages, so this page draws on the statute and Medicaid.gov only and is marked noindex.

What we can confirm

Medicaid.gov lists DHS as the state Medicaid agency, with 800-657-3672 for consumers and 800-366-5411 for providers.

Minnesota Statutes section 256B.85 sets out CFSS. It defines CFSS as the assistance and supports program needed for accomplishing activities of daily living, and sets out two ways to deliver it: an agency-provider model, where a qualified agency provides services through its own employees, and a budget model, where the participant uses a service budget and employs the worker directly with a fiscal management services (FMS) provider. The statute says that upon federal approval CFSS will replace the PCA program. The page we read does not say whether that approval has happened, and DHS's pages, which would say, were unreadable. Our CFSS page has the detail.

Who is eligible, under the statute

A person must be determined eligible for medical assistance, or be an alternative care, waiver or individualized education program participant, and must be determined dependent in one activity of daily living or Level I behavior. The person must not be a participant under a family support grant. See CFSS in Minnesota.

Family as paid workers

The statute lets a spouse, or a parent or stepparent of a participant under 18, be a support worker, with hour limits. It excludes a participant's representative or paid legal guardian from being paid for CFSS. See paid family caregiver in Minnesota.

What we have not verified

We did not read DHS pages on any of these, so we do not describe them:

• the PCA program's own rules;
• the Community Access for Disability Inclusion (CADI) waiver and other waivers;
• how to get an assessment, and who the lead agency is in your county;
• pay rates, which the statute leaves to DHS.

How to find out

1. Call DHS on 800-657-3672 or your county human services office.
2. Ask whether you are on PCA or CFSS, and when you move if you are on PCA.
3. Ask which waivers you could qualify for and whether there is a waiting list.

Where Carevo fits

Carevo is a connection platform and directory. We do not run any Minnesota program, assess eligibility or vouch for providers. For paid help now, see home care in Minnesota, home health in Minnesota, nursing homes in Minnesota and developmental disability services in Minnesota.

This page is marked noindex until we can read DHS's own pages and cite them.

Programs in Minnesota

• Community First Services and Supports (CFSS): Community First Services and Supports (CFSS) is Minnesota's Medicaid personal care option that replaces PCA upon federal approval. The statute lets a spouse or a parent of a minor be a support worker within hour limits.

Find providers in Minnesota

• Home care in Minnesota
• Home health care in Minnesota
• Nursing homes in Minnesota
• Intellectual and developmental disability services in Minnesota
• Paid family caregiver in Minnesota