Group Residential Housing (GRH) (Archive)

Group Residential Housing (GRH) is a state-funded program that provides cash assistance, including room and board for unrelated people who live in certain licensed or registered group living arrangements.

People are eligible for GRH funding if they meet one of the following:

1. Are Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients or would be eligible for SSI except for excess income and are:

n  age 65 or older; or

n  blind; or

n  age 18 or older and disabled; or

2. Have a basis of eligibility for General Assistance (GA); or

3. Meet GRH requirements in one of several categories.  

See the Combined Manual for more information on GRH eligibility requirements.

People who qualify for a GRH cash grant are automatically eligible for Medical Assistance (MA) if they have an MA basis of eligibility other than adults without children. Determine MA eligibility separately for GRH cash grant recipients who only have an MA basis of eligibility of adults without children.

Note:  Determine MA separately for people who reside in a GRH facility but do not receive a GRH cash grant. MA enrollees who receive services through a home and community-based waiver program and who also receive a GRH cash grant must have a separate eligibility determination for MA payment of LTC services.

Eligibility factors and links to standard program guidelines are provided below.

Application Process.

Eligibility Begin Date.

Renewals.

Verifications.

Social Security Number.

Citizenship/Immigration Status.

Residency.

Insurance and Benefit Recovery.

Household Composition.

Eligibility Method.

Asset Guidelines.

Income Guidelines.

Deductions/Disregards.

Spenddowns.

Covered Services.

Service Delivery.

Other Requirements.

End of Eligibility Basis.

Relationship to Other Groups/Bases.

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Application Process  (standard guidelines)

No separate application is needed because MA is automatic with GRH eligibility.

Eligibility Begin Date  (standard guidelines)

Automatic MA eligibility is available effective the first of the month in which GRH is approved, unless the client moved to Minnesota after the first of the month. MA eligibility begins the date the applicant moved to Minnesota.

Note:  Applicants for a GRH cash grant can request up to three months of retroactive MA coverage without a separate health care application. They must meet all MA eligibility requirements in the retroactive months.

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Renewals  (standard guidelines)

Six-month renewals are not required for people who receive MA automatically with GRH.

Verifications  (standard guidelines)

GRH recipients are not subject to mandatory MA verification requirements.

Exceptions:

n  GRH recipients who request retroactive MA coverage for months in which they did not receive a GRH cash payment are subject to mandatory MA verification requirements for those months.

n  GRH recipients who request MA payment of LTC services are required to provide necessary verifications to determine eligibility for MA payment of LTC services.

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Social Security Number

An enrollee’s Social Security Number is verified by the Social Security Administration for a person eligible for GRH with automatic MA.

Citizenship/Immigration Status  (standard guidelines)

An enrollee’s citizenship or immigration status is verified through the GRH determination for a person eligible for GRH with automatic MA.

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Residency  (standard guidelines)

Follow standard MA residency guidelines. See State Residence for MA and MinnesotaCare.

Insurance and Benefit Recovery  (standard guidelines)

Follow standard MA guidelines.

Refer GRH recipients who are age 65 or older, and who receive only SSI benefits to the Social Security Administration (SSA) to apply for Medicare if they are not currently enrolled. Send the client the Medicare Buy-In Referral Letter (DHS-3439) and a county-addressed return envelope requesting the client apply within 60 days. Once you receive the confirmation portion of the referral letter or otherwise confirm Medicare eligibility with the SSA, enroll the person in the appropriate Medicare Savings Programs.

DHS pays Medicare Part B premiums for GRH recipients who receive Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (RSDI) benefits and are enrolled in Medicare through the Medicare buy-in.

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Household Composition  (standard guidelines)

Household composition is determined with the GRH approval for a person eligible for GRH with automatic MA.

Eligibility Method  (standard guidelines)

Not applicable.

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Asset Guidelines  (standard guidelines)

Assets are verified through the GRH determination for a person eligible for GRH with automatic MA.

Income Guidelines

Income is verified through the GRH determination for a person eligible for GRH with automatic MA.

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Deductions/Disregards

There are no deductions or disregards applied for a person eligible for GRH with automatic MA.

Spenddowns

Not applicable.

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Covered Services  (Prepaid MHCP Manual)

Follow standard MA guidelines.

Service Delivery  (Prepaid MHCP Manual)

People who are not enrolled in a managed care plan receive services through fee-for-service.

GRH cash grant recipients under age 65 who are automatically eligible for MA are excluded from mandatory managed care enrollment. However, people may voluntarily enroll in Special Needs BasicCare (SNBC) if they are:

l  ages 18-64 and are eligible for MA with or without Medicare Parts A and B, and

l  certified disabled by SSA or SMRT.

GRH cash grant recipients age 65 or older who are not enrolled in a managed care plan receive services through fee-for-service.

People age 65 or older, including people who receive services through the Elderly Waiver (EW), who are not subject to a managed care exclusion will be enrolled in Minnesota Senior Care or Minnesota Senior Care Plus, depending on their county of residence. Most seniors may voluntarily enroll in Minnesota Senior Health Options (MSHO) if they so choose.

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Other Requirements

GRH cash grant recipients must comply with MA requirements to assign rights to medical support to maintain automatic eligibility for MA.

End of Eligibility Basis

Automatic MA eligibility ends when GRH cash grant eligibility ends. Redetermine the person’s eligibility for health care and Medicare Savings Programs.

Relationship to Other Groups/Bases  (standard guidelines)

GRH cash grant recipients do not have to accept MA. They may decline health care coverage. GRH cash grant recipients who have an MA basis of eligibility cannot choose state-funded coverage through MinnesotaCare.

Exception:  GRH cash grant recipients with only an MA basis of eligibility of adults without children who are not eligible for MA may apply for MinnesotaCare.

GRH cash grant recipients who are enrolled in Medicare are automatically accreted to the Medicare buy-in, so have no need for Medicare Savings Programs eligibility.

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