Minnesota Health Care Programs
1.4.4 Temporary Absence
Temporary absence refers to circumstances where one or more household members are absent from a household they share with others, but the absent members remain part of the household.
Reasons for the temporary absence include but are not limited to:
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School attendance or training
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Employment
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Illness or hospitalization
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Vacation
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Job search
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Military service
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Working in another state
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Natural disaster or catastrophe
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Personal or family emergency
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Visits with a non-custodial parent or other relatives
When temporarily absent for school attendance or training, the student must:
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maintain a home in Minnesota (or, for children, have a home maintained by a parent or relative caretaker); and
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return home during vacations and school breaks.
The following are some of the circumstances that are not considered a temporary absence:
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An absence of less than one calendar month
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An absence that is expected to be more than one calendar month and the person does not intend to return to the home, or does not meet a condition for temporary absence
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An absence due to incarceration for more than one calendar month
Temporary Absences from the State
A temporary absence includes when an applicant or enrollee who lives alone or lives with others is absent from Minnesota with the intent to return to the state when the reason for the absence ends. There is no time limit for how long a person may be temporarily absent from the state. A person is no longer considered temporarily absent from the state if they receive Medicaid benefits in another state. An applicant or enrollee’s eligibility for Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) may not be denied or terminated because of the person’s temporary absence from the state.
An MA-FCA applicant or enrollee who is or expects to be temporarily absent from the state must report the temporary absence to their servicing agency. When a person enrolled in MA-FCA is temporarily absent from Minnesota for more than 30 consecutive days, they must receive their MA benefits on a fee-for-service basis instead of through a managed care plan. Their coverage is provided through the fee for service claims payment system. See EPM 2.2.4.1 Health Care Delivery for further information.
The date the applicant or enrollee left the state is considered day one in determining whether the temporary absence from Minnesota will last for more than 30 days. The last day of the temporary absence is the date the applicant or enrollee attests he or she is returning to Minnesota, or the date the applicant or enrollee actually returns.
Legal Citations
Code of Federal Regulations, title 20, section 416.1149
Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, section 435.403
Minnesota Statutes, section 256B.056, subdivision 1
Minnesota Statutes, section 256B.69, subdivision 4
Minnesota Statutes, section 256L.09, subdivision 4