Week of Dec. 30, 2025





Minnesota Department of Human Services





Aging & Disability
Weekly Updates



*Week of Dec. 30, 2025*






This weekly digest is a method to communicate updates, initiatives and policy changes from the Aging and Adult Services Division (AASD) and Disability Services Division (DSD) in a simplified way. We send this announcement every week on Tuesdays.

In this edition





Joint AASD/DSD messages

* MnCHOICES benchmarks annual report posted [ #MnCHOICES ]

 

AASD messages

* Elderly Waiver (EW) amendment package approved by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) [ #EW_amendment ]
* EW hospital high-needs budget exception and nursing facility conversion budget [ #EW_budget ]



DSD messages

* Reminder: Operating payment rate increases for intermediate care facilities for persons with developmental disabilities (ICF/DD) providers [ #ICFDD ]

 

Training and event information

* Webinar announcement: EW Hospital High-Needs Budget Exception for Lead Agencies [ #EW_webinar ]





Joint AASD/DSD messages

MnCHOICES benchmarks annual report posted [ [link removed] ]

* *Audience:* Lead agency staff and other interested parties
* *Summary:* DHS posted the 2025 MnCHOICES benchmarks annual data report, which includes data from calendar year 2024.





AASD messages

EW amendment package approved by CMS [ [link removed] ]

* *Audience:* Lead agency staff and other interested parties
* *Effective date:* Implementation timelines vary
* *Summary:* CMS approved DHS’ EW amendment package effective Jan. 1, 2026.

 

EW hospital high-needs budget exception and nursing facility conversion budget [ [link removed] ]

* *Audience:* Lead agencies, hospitals, EW service providers and other interested parties
* *Effective date:* Jan. 1, 2026
* *Summary:* Effective Jan. 1, 2026, DHS and managed care organizations (MCOs) will accept requests from lead agencies for the new EW hospital high-needs budget exception when certain criteria are met.





DSD messages

Reminder: Operating payment rate increases for ICF/DD providers [ [link removed] ]

* *Audience:* ICF/DD providers, lead agency staff and other interested parties
* *Effective date:* Jan. 1, 2026
* *Summary:* Effective Jan. 1, 2026, DHS will increase the operating payment rate floor for ICF/DD providers.





Training and event information

Webinar announcement: EW Hospital High-Needs Budget Exception for Lead Agencies [ [link removed] ]

* *Audience:* All interested parties, including counties, tribal nations and MCOs
* *Event date:* Jan. 29, 2026
* *Summary:* DHS is hosting a webinar about the new EW hospital high-needs exception. Participants will learn about when and how to request the exception using a new form.





AASD ARCHIVE [ [link removed] ] | DSD LEAD AGENCY ARCHIVE [ [link removed] ] | DSD STAKEHOLDER ARCHIVE [ [link removed] ]

Visit CBSM – What’s new [ [link removed] ] often for a list of policies/pages we’ve recently updated in the Community-Based Services Manual [ [link removed] ].








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