Emergency Funding: MDH Grant Deadline is Today; New Details for Nursing Homes

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Jeff Bostic

The deadline to apply for the first round of emergency assistance funding from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), a total of $50 million for health care provider, is midnight TODAY.  

For Assisted Living and Housing with Services, the MDH grant program is your primary form of assistance to address your added staffing and supply costs. The Minnesota Department fo Human Services (DHS) is working on an adjustment to customized living rates to address added costs of serving those clients, but that will only cover the Elderly Waiver population and may not be in place for several days if it does happen. For more details on this funding, watch our video brief.

Important News for Nursing Homes: DHS announced expedited payments to nursing homes under its existing authority. Reimbursement will be allowed retroactively for COVID-19 costs incurred on or after March 13, 2020. DHS has provided detailed instructions and the application form. Nursing homes are also eligible for the MDH funding to cover COVID-related expenses that are not eligible for DHS assistance, including large capital investments and settings that are not in the medical assistance program. Watch our video brief.

Additional Funding: We are still awaiting information on a second round of MDH funding totaling $150 million that was appropriated by the Legislature. We will share information on that pool of funding once we receive it.