MinnesotaCare for Adults With Children (Archive)

People who have children under age 21 in the household are considered adults with children for MinnesotaCare eligibility if they are:

l  A parent . Consider stepparents to be parents regardless of whether the biological or adoptive parent lives in the household.

l  Relative caretakers, foster parents or legal guardians residing with one or more children in their care.

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.

MinnesotaCare Major Program and Eligibility Types (MPETs).

Asset Guidelines.

Income Guidelines.

Deductions/Disregards.

Premiums.

Covered Services.

Service Delivery.

Other Requirements.

End of Eligibility in Group.

Relationship to Other Groups/Bases.

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Application Process  (standard guidelines)

See Household Composition below for guidelines on when adults must be included in a child's MinnesotaCare household.

Eligibility Begin Date  (standard guidelines)

Follow standard MinnesotaCare guidelines.

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Renewals  (standard guidelines)

Follow standard MinnesotaCare guidelines.

Verifications  (standard guidelines)

Follow standard MinnesotaCare guidelines.

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Social Security Number  (standard guidelines)

Follow standard MinnesotaCare guidelines.

Citizenship/Immigration Status  (standard guidelines)

Parents and relative caretakers who are noncitizens:

l  May be eligible with Federal Financial Participation (FFP) if they meet the immigration status requirements for federally funded MA.

l  May be eligible for state-funded MinnesotaCare if they do not meet the immigration status requirements for federally funded MA.

Legal guardians and foster parents who are not relative caretakers may be eligible for state-funded MinnesotaCare only, even if they meet the immigration status requirements for federally funded MA.

Note:  Noncitizens with an undocumented or nonimmigrant status are not eligible for MinnesotaCare.

See Funding Health Care for Noncitizens for further information about immigration status and federal funding.

Parents and relative caretakers who are citizens must follow citizenship verification requirements.

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Residency  (standard guidelines)

Follow standard MinnesotaCare guidelines.

Insurance and Benefit Recovery  (standard guidelines)

Follow standard MinnesotaCare guidelines.

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Household Composition  (standard guidelines)

Biological or adoptive parents and stepparents residing with their children or stepchildren must always be included in the same MinnesotaCare household.

Note:  Unlike Medical Assistance (MA), the husband of a pregnant woman is also considered part of a MinnesotaCare family household, even if he does not have any other children in the household. See Effect of Pregnancy on MCRE Eligibility Group and Determining MCRE Household Size for further information.

Relative caretakers, legal guardians and foster parents may apply with or separately from the children for whom they are responsible. However, they must include the children as part of their MinnesotaCare household to be considered adults with children.

l  If they apply as one household including the children, include their income along with the children's in the gross household income for determining eligibility and premium amount.

l  If they apply for the children separately, count only the children's income to determine the children's eligibility and premium amount.

Note:  Applying for the children separately may result in a lower premium for some households. See Non-Parent Caretaker and MinnesotaCare Premiums for more information.

Adults who care for children under 21 who live with them but who are not the biological or adoptive parent, stepparent, legal guardian, relative caretaker, or foster parent of any of the children are not considered part of a family household. See MinnesotaCare for Adults Without Children.

See All or Nothing Rule for further information about who is required to apply as part of the same MinnesotaCare household.

MPET (standard guidelines)

See MinnesotaCare Major Program Eligibility Type (MPET) for information on determining an adult's MPET.

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Asset Guidelines  (standard guidelines)

The asset limit for non-pregnant adults is:

l  $10,000 for a household of one.

l  $20,000 for a household of two or more.

Income Guidelines  (standard guidelines)

The income limit is 275% FPG, or $50,000 annual gross income, whichever is less.

Exception:  Pregnant women are not subject to the $50,000 annual gross income limit and would be eligible if the income is at or below 275% FPG. Enrolled pregnant women cannot be terminated as a result of having excess income until after 60 days postpartum. See MinnesotaCare for Pregnant Women and MinnesotaCare for Auto Newborns.

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Deductions/Disregards  (standard guidelines)

Follow standard MinnesotaCare guidelines.

Premiums  (standard guidelines)

Follow standard MinnesotaCare guidelines.

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Covered Services  (Prepaid MHCP Manual)

MinnesotaCare adults with children have some benefit limitations, deductibles, and co-payments which vary depending on household income. They may have one of two benefit sets:

l  Basic Plus - This includes people whose total household income is over 215% but less than or equal to 275% FPG (or $50,000, whichever is less). This group has a $10,000 annual limit on inpatient hospital benefits (but no inpatient co-payments).

l  Basic Plus Two - This includes people whose household income is equal to or less than 215% FPG. This group does not have an annual limit on inpatient hospital benefits (and also has no hospital co-payments).

They also have co-payments for some services, including emergency room visits, prescriptions and eyeglasses, regardless of income. See the MHCP Provider Manual for more information.

Service Delivery  (Prepaid MHCP Manual)

Follow standard MinnesotaCare guidelines.

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Other Requirements

Parents, legal guardians, and relative caretakers must cooperate with medical support requirements as a condition of eligibility.

l  Legal guardians and relative caretakers who refuse to cooperate with medical support for wards or relative children for whom they apply may not reapply separately for themselves.

l  Children's eligibility is not affected by a parent, legal guardian, or relative caretaker's failure to cooperate.

Note:  Do not require foster parents to cooperate with medical support requirements.

Legal guardians and foster parents may qualify only for state-funded MinnesotaCare. No federal financial participation (FFP) is available for these enrollees, regardless of income level or immigration status.

Note:  For a person who is both a parent/relative caretaker and a legal guardian or foster parent, use the federally funded parent or relative caretaker status for MinnesotaCare eligibility.

Example:
Phyllis is her granddaughter Naomi’s legal guardian, and is applying for MinnesotaCare for them as a household.

Action:
Use the relative caretaker status of ”grandparent” when determining Phyllis’ eligibility and funding.

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End of Eligibility in Group

When adults lose parent or caretaker status, give 10-day notice to change eligibility effective the first available month after the change. See Change in MinnesotaCare Eligibility.

Relationship to Other Groups/Bases  (standard guidelines)

Also consider MA for Parents/Caretakers.

Screen all MinnesotaCare applicants and enrollees who lose parent or caretaker status for MA for adults without children. Determine MA eligibility for any applicant or enrollee who is an adult without children and who reports income at or below 75% of the federal poverty guidelines (FPG). Follow agency current policy to either determine eligibility for MA or to transfer the application to the appropriate agency for a complete MA determination. Send the Notice to Apply for Medical Assistance (DHS-3404).

MinnesotaCare enrollees may remain enrolled in MinnesotaCare for up to 60 days from the first day of the month following the referral for MA.  MinnesotaCare can also continue if the enrollee is cooperating with the process, but the MA determination takes longer than 60 days or if the enrollee is determined ineligible for MA. close or deny MinnesotaCare for the next available month for enrollees who fail to submit an application for MA or are denied MA for adults without children due to failure to complete or cooperate with the MA determination process.

MinnesotaCare applicants who do not cooperate with the MA eligibility determination process are not eligible for MinnesotaCare until they cooperate with the MA requirements. Applicants who reapply for MinnesotaCare after failing to cooperate with an MA requirements. Applicants who reapply for MinnesotaCare after failing to cooperate with an MA determination must complete the MA determination before they can enroll in MinnesotaCare, unless they no longer appear to qualify for MA for adults without children.

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