Minnesota Health Care Programs
1.4.2 State Residency for Adoption Assistance and Foster Care
People who receive adoption assistance or are in foster care have special rules for determining their state of residency.
Adoption Assistance
People, of any age, who receive federal payments for adoption assistance under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, are residents of the State where they live. A person who lives in Minnesota and receives these payments is a Minnesota resident; a person who receives these payments who lives in another state is not a Minnesota resident.
People who live in another state and receive non-Title IV-E payments for adoption assistance from Minnesota are residents of the other state if that state has reciprocity policy under the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), also known as COBRA-Reciprocity. COBRA-Reciprocity, administered through the Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance (ICAMA) provides automatic health care coverage in the state when adoption assistance recipients move there from other states and the adoption assistance agreement includes healthcare. If the state does not have a COBRA-Reciprocity policy, the person remains a Minnesota resident. See the COBRA & COBRA-Reciprocity chart on the Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance (AAICAMA) website for a state by state listing.
People who live in Minnesota and receive non-Title IV-E payments (or state payments) for adoption assistance are residents of Minnesota. This includes people who receive state payments for adoption assistance from another state. Under ICAMA, people who receive non-Title IV-E payments from another state are automatically eligible for Medical Assistance in Minnesota, if the adoption assistance agreement from the other state includes health care coverage.
Foster Care
People, of any age, eligible for federal payments for foster care under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, are residents of the state where they live. A person who lives in Minnesota and receives these payments is a Minnesota resident; a person who receives these payments who lives in another state is not a Minnesota resident.
People who are in foster care who do not receive Title IV-E payments are residents of the state associated with the state agency or entity under contract with the state, including a county agency that arranged for the person to be placed into foster care.
See the Northstar chapter for information about health care policies for Minnesota’s adoption assistance and foster care programs.
Legal Citations
Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, section 435.403
Minnesota Statutes, section 256B.056, subdivision 1
Minnesota Statutes, section 256L.09