Moving Expenses

About Moving Expenses

Beginning April 1, 2024

Housing Stabilization Services Moving Expenses are for people receiving Housing Stabilization-Transition services who are transitioning out of a Medicaid-funded institution or leaving a provider-operated living arrangement and moving into their own home. For purposes of this service component, “home” means a setting that a participant owns, rents, or leases that is not operated, owned, or leased by a provider of services or supports.
Moving Expenses are a component of Housing Stabilization-Transition Services. Moving expenses are non-reoccurring and limited to a maximum of $3,000 annually within an approved Housing Stabilization Services eligibility span.
Moving Expenses are reimbursed to providers. Moving Expenses are covered only to the extent that they are determined reasonable and necessary.

Who qualifies for Moving Expenses?

A person must be transitioning into their own home, approved for Housing Stabilization Services and leaving one of the following living situations to qualify for Moving Expenses:

  1. Medicaid funded institutional settings:

  • Nursing Facilities

  • Hospitals, including Community Behavioral Health Hospitals (CBHH)

  • Intermediate Care Facilities for persons with developmental disabilities (ICF/DD)

  • Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Services facility (CABHS) (18+) 

  • Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTF)

  • Institutions for Mental Disease (IMD) (refer to the 2.5.4 Program for People Living in Institutions for Mental Diseases webpage) only if: 

    • the facility is participating in the 1115 Substance Use Disorder (SUD) System Reform Demonstration; or

    • the person is 18-21 years old or older than 65 years

    • the person is enrolled in Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA)

    • the person is age 21 to 65 and enrolled in a managed care plan with a length of stay of no more than 15 days during a calendar month. 

2. Currently homeless and has stayed in a shelter or county-funded emergency shelter (including hotel voucher program or other county-funded emergency housing sites) at some point over the last 12 months. The person must self-report shelter or county-funded emergency shelter stay.

 

3. Leaving one of these living environments:

  • Adult foster care (corporate and family)

  • Community residential services

  • Assisted living (including those providing customized living)

  • Integrated Community Supports (ICS)

  • IRTS (Intensive Residential Treatment Services)

  • Residential crisis stabilization

  • Residential mental health programs (Rule 36) with 16 beds or less 

  • Community Behavioral Health Hospitals (CBHH) 

  • SUD settings that are not IMD 

  • Supportive housing

  • Housing support 

  • Transitional housing

  • Board and Lodging 

  • Boarding care homes

The person is no longer eligible for Moving Expenses if the person changes their housing plans or can no longer move into their own home for any reason. This applies even if the person was previously approved for Moving Expenses.

 

Providers must not submit claims for Moving Expenses when a person is no longer moving into their own home even if moving expenses were previously approved and paid for by the provider. 

What is covered under Moving Expenses?

The following are covered under Moving Expenses. Refer to the Moving Expenses Covered/Not Covered document for more information and examples of allowable moving expenses.

  • Applications, security deposits, and the cost of securing documentation that is required to obtain a lease on an apartment or home

  • Essential household furnishings required to occupy a person’s home, including furniture, window coverings, food preparation items, and bed and bath linens

  • One-time set-up fees or deposits for utility or service access, including telephone, electricity, heating, and water

  • Necessary home accessibility adaptations such as grab bars in the bathroom, doorbells that blink, sound alerts, alarms on doors, entryway ramps, etc.

  • Services necessary for the individual’s health and safety, such as pest eradication and one-time cleaning before occupancy

What is not covered under Moving Expenses?


The following are not covered under Moving Expenses:

  • Rent and mortgage payments

  • Food

  • Clothing

  • Recreational items such as streaming devices, computers, televisions, cable television access, cell phones, and similar.

Moving Expenses Limitations

  • For a person living in a Medicaid institutional setting or another provider-operated living arrangement, services may be provided no more than 180 consecutive days before discharge and providers may not bill for services until the person has transitioned to their own home. 

  • Housing Stabilization Services – Transition providers or their family members cannot sell goods and services to recipients that are reimbursed through moving expenses.

  • Moving expenses cannot be used to purchase goods and services from a recipient’s family member.

  • Moving Expenses are covered only to the extent that they are reasonable and necessary as determined through the housing plan development process.

  • Moving Expenses are not covered when a recipient is receiving Housing Stabilization - Sustaining services.

  • Moving Expenses claims should not be submitted if the person does not move.

  • Moving Expenses is limited to $3,000. Amounts above that cannot be reimbursed.

Provider Responsibilities

  • Providers must complete the Moving Expense training found in TrainLink.

  • Providers must submit a request to add Moving Expenses to the person’s current approved Housing Stabilization Services eligibility span. If the person does not have an approved eligibility span, the provider will submit an initial, renewal or provider change request adding moving expenses. 

  • Moving expenses must be clearly identified in the Housing Focused Person-Centered plan, Coordinated Support Services Plan or Coordinated Care Plan.

  • Providers must have received an approval letter for Housing Stabilization Services, and their recipient must be in transition, and be approved for Moving Expenses.

  • Providers are responsible to pay upfront for Moving Expenses which include deposits, furnishings, and other moving-related items before submitting claims for reimbursement.

  • Providers must submit receipts to show proof of transaction. 

  • Providers must keep track of moving expense costs separately from other components of Housing Stabilization-Transition services. 

  • Providers should submit Moving Expense claims as soon as possible to reduce the risk of nonpayment due to a provider change resulting in Moving Expenses exceeding the $3,000 limit.

Important provider change information:

  • The $3,000 benefit component limit carries across all provider changes throughout the annual eligibility period. 

  • Moving expenses are an annual service component that is not renewed when a provider change occurs. 

  • Providers must communicate with each other during a provider change to avoid any confusion or provider payment issues. 

  • If the new provider submitting the provider change does not know who the current provider is, the new provider can obtain this information by sending signed Release of Information (ROI) from the recipient to the HSS policy email address: dhshousingstabilization@state.mn.us.

Billing Moving Expenses Fee-For-Service

Please refer to information under Billing in the Housing Stabilization Services section of the Minnesota Health Care Programs Provider Manual.