Medical Assistance for People Who Are Age 65 or Older and People Who Are Blind or Have a Disability

2.3.4.2 Renewals

Annual Renewal

All Medical Assistance for People Who Are Age 65 or Older and People Who Are Blind or Have a Disability (MA-ABD) enrollees must complete an annual renewal. The first annual renewal is 12 months from the month of application and renewals occur annually thereafter as long as the enrollee remains eligible for MA. Eligibility for retroactive coverage months do not affect when an enrollee’s annual renewal occurs.

Six-Month Renewal

MA-ABD enrollees with a medical spenddown must complete a six-month income renewal, with the exception of the following people:

People whose only source of income is from an unvarying unearned income source that is expected to continue indefinitely. This type of income includes:
- Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (RSDI) benefits
- Private pensions
- Veterans' benefits
- Public assistance benefits, such as Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), General Assistance (GA) and Minnesota Supplemental Aid (MSA)
People whose only source of income is from an excluded income source, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

Monthly Renewals

MA-ABD enrollees do not have to complete monthly renewals.

Late Renewals

A late renewal is a renewal for which either of the following is true:

the renewal form is received before the last day of the fourth month following closure; or
any additional information or verifications that were required are received before the last day of the fourth month following closure.

Eligibility for enrollees who do not return the renewal form, or who return the form but do not provide all the information and verifications needed to renew eligibility, is closed. However, eligibility for enrollees who are closed for failing to renew may be redetermined without requiring a new application if the form is returned within four months of the date of closure. A late renewal is a new application. All application policies apply.

When Eligibility Ends at Renewal

Changes reported during an enrollee’s renewal may affect an MA enrollee's basis of eligibility. Enrollees who lose eligibility under one basis must be redetermined for all health care programs they are potentially eligible for, without interruption in their coverage. See EPM 1.3.2.1 Change in Circumstances for more information.

Legal Citations

Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, section 435.916

Minnesota Statutes, section 256.01

Minnesota Statutes, section 256B.056