Correctional Facilities (Archive)

In general, people who are incarcerated in detention or correctional facilities are not eligible for Minnesota Health Care Program (MHCP) coverage. Children who are placed by a juvenile court in certain juvenile programs may be eligible depending on the type of facility.

Exception:  People who meet all other eligibility requirements for Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA) are eligible for RMA regardless of their living arrangement.

Applicants in Correctional Facility.

Enrollees in Correctional Facility.

MinnesotaCare.

Medical Assistance.

General Assistance Medical Care.

Coverage Upon Release from Correctional Facility.

Types of Correctional Facilities and MMIS Codes.

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Applicants Residing in Correctional Facility

Applicants for MHCP, regardless of age, are ineligible for coverage while they reside in the following correctional facilities:

l  City, county, state and federal correctional and detention facilities for adults.

This includes inmates who are:

n  in a work release program that requires they return to the facility during non-work hours.

n  admitted to an acute care medical hospital for medical treatment or to give birth, but required to return to the facility when treatment or convalescence is completed.

l  Secure juvenile facilities licensed by the DOC that are for holding, evaluation, and detention purposes.

l  State-owned and operated juvenile correctional facility.

l  Publicly-owned and operated juvenile residential treatment and group foster care facilities licensed by the DOC with more than 25 non-secure beds.

People who reside in a correctional facility may apply for MHCP 45 days prior to their release. See Applications for Inmates for more information.

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Enrollees Residing in Correctional Facility

MinnesotaCare

A MinnesotaCare enrollee who is incarcerated and residing in a correctional facility remains eligible for coverage until the next renewal.

n  If a MinnesotaCare enrollee is eligible under major program LL or FF for a MinnesotaCare major program that is federally funded, change the enrollee to state-funded MinnesotaCare (KK or JJ) starting the month after admission (unless that is the renewal month).

Note:  Do not change the living arrangement code. The living arrangement code must remain "80” for these MinnesotaCare enrollees.   

n  Continue to count incarcerated adults or children in the MinnesotaCare household size if they continue to have MinnesotaCare coverage.

n  Close MinnesotaCare coverage at the time of renewal if the enrollee still resides in a correctional facility.

Note:  MinnesotaCare enrollees who remain eligible while residing in a correctional facility must continue to receive care through their health plans. They must obtain authorization from the health plan to use an out-of-network provider.

Medical Assistance (MA)

Close MA eligibility immediately when an MA enrollee begins residing in a correctional facility. Ten-day notice is not required.

Note:  MA enrollees who reside in a correctional facility for no more than 12 consecutive calendar months may request to have coverage reopened upon release from the correctional facility through a shortened process. MA closing notices notify enrollees who are closed due to incarceration of the shortened process.  

See Applications for Inmates for more information.

General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC)

A GAMC enrollee who is residing in a county correctional or detention facility continues to be eligible for GAMC if expected to be detained less than one year and the enrollee continues to meet all other eligibility requirements.

Close GAMC eligibility immediately when the GAMC enrollee is expected to be detained for more than one year. Ten-day notice is not required.

Note:  A person in a county facility who is admitted to a chemical dependency treatment program is eligible for continued GAMC coverage if he or she:

m is eligible for GAMC while in treatment,

m must return to the county facility after treatment, and        

m has less than 12 months remaining to serve upon returning to the correctional facility.

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Coverage Upon Release from Correctional Facility

People are not considered to be residing in a correctional facility and may be eligible for MHCP when they are:

l  Released on their own recognizance.

l  On bail.

l  Given a pardon.

l  Released upon completing sentence.

l  Under home surveillance, required to wear a monitoring bracelet or cuff.

l  Determined not guilty.

l  On probation.

l  Released to a privately-owned and operated halfway house (currently all halfway houses in Minnesota are privately owned and operated).

Note: Contact DHS if informed that a halfway house is government owned and operated before denying coverage.

l  Released on a conditional medical leave. This occurs when an individual is suffering from a grave or terminal illness; can be a juvenile or an adult. This is not a furlough.

l  Under civil court hold orders.

l  Released to a chemical dependency treatment facility.

l  On parole or supervised release, or, in the case of a juvenile, on extended furlough (usually 90 days).

l  Placed in facilities licensed by the Department of Corrections (DOC) as privately owned and operated, non-secure residential treatment program, or a group or foster home.

l  Placed in a publicly owned and operated DOC licensed juvenile residential treatment facility or group foster home that is IV-E certified and licensed for no more than 25 non-secure beds.

l  Committed by court order to an Institution for Mental Diseases (IMD).

l  Transferred from a prison to a nursing home.

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Types of Correctional Facilities and MMIS Codes

The MMIS/RLVA codes for correctional facilities and penal institutions are:

l  68  County correctional or detention facility.

l  69  Adult - Other Correctional Facility.

l  70  Juvenile - State Correctional Facility (includes Thistledew Camp in Itasca County).

l  71  Publicly or Privately Operated Secure Juvenile Detention Facility (Residential Facility or Group Home) or Bed.

l  72  Publicly Owned and Operated Juvenile Residential Facility or Group Foster Home. IV-E certified; no more than 25 non-secure beds.

l  73  Publicly Owned and Operated Juvenile Residential Facility or Group Foster Home. More than 25 beds.

l  74  Privately Operated Juvenile Residential Facility or Group Home. Non-secure facility.

l  75  Juvenile Foster Home.

l  76  Publicly or Privately Operated Juvenile Temporary Holdover Facility. Secure facility.

l  77  Publicly or Privately Operated Juvenile Temporary Holdover Facility. Non-secure facility.

l  80  Correctional halfway house.

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