Housing Stabilization Services

ATTENTION: The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has terminated Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) program. HSS services may not be provided after October 31, 2025. PrimeWest Health will not reimburse providers for any HSS service provided after October 31, 2025. The information included on this page is only applicable to services provided prior to October 31, 2025.

For more information, refer to the following:

• Housing Stabilization Services program termination FAQ for providers and clients
• Resources for clients affected by Housing Stabilization Services termination

Housing stabilization services (HSS), effective mid-July 2020, are part of the Medical Assistance (Medicaid) benefit and help people with disabilities and seniors find and keep housing. HSS are State plan (not waiver) Home and Community Based Services (HCBS).

Eligible Providers

To be eligible to provide, bill, and be paid by PrimeWest Health for housing consultation, housing transition, and housing sustaining services under HSS, providers must meet applicable requirements and enroll with PrimeWest Health. PrimeWest Health requires all HSS providers to be enrolled with the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). Review the Housing Stabilization Services Enrollment Criteria and Forms section of the DHS Provider Manual for enrollment criteria and instructions on how to enroll with DHS. Once enrollment with DHS is complete, providers can request enrollment in the PrimeWest Health claim system by completing the applicable forms listed in the New Facility Claim Requirements section of the PrimeWest Health Provider Manual. These forms must be completed prior to submitting claims for reimbursement to PrimeWest Health.

Eligible Members

A member is eligible for housing stabilization services if they meet all of the following needs-based criteria:

1. Be enrolled with PrimeWest Health
2. Be age 18 or over
3. Have a documented disability or disabling condition, defined as one of the following:
   1. A person who is aged, blind, or has a disability as described under Title II of the Social Security Act.
   2. A person with an injury or illness that is expected to cause extended or long-term incapacitation.
   3. A person with a developmental disability (or related condition) or mental illness.
   4. A person with a mental health condition, substance use disorder, or physical injury that required a residential level of care and who is now in the process of transitioning to the community.
   5. A person who is determined to have a learning disability according to policy adopted by DHS; or
   6. A person with a substance use disorder who is enrolled in a treatment program or is on a waiting list for a treatment program.
4. Be assessed to require assistance with at least one of the following areas resulting from the presence of a disability or a long-term or indefinite condition:
   1. Communication
   2. Mobility
   3. Decision-making; or
   4. Managing challenging behaviors
5. Be experiencing housing instability, evidenced by one of the following risk factors:
   1. Homeless. An individual or family is considered homeless when they lack a fixed, adequate nighttime residence; or
   2. Currently transitioning, or has recently transitioned, from an institution or licensed or registered setting (registered housing with services facility, board and lodge, boarding care, adult foster care or community residential setting, hospital, Intermediate Care Facility for persons with Developmental Disabilities [ICF-DD], intensive residential treatment services, the Minnesota Security Hospital, nursing facility, regional treatment center); or
   3. At risk of homelessness. An individual or family is at risk of homelessness when
      1. the individual or family is faced with a situation or set of circumstances likely to cause the household to become homeless, including but not limited to: doubled-up living arrangements where the individual’s name is not on a lease, living in a condemned building without a place to move, having arrears in rent or utility payments, receiving an eviction notice without a place to move or living in temporary or transitional housing that carries time limits; or
      2. The person, previously homeless, will be discharged from a correctional, medical, mental health or substance use disorder treatment center and lacks sufficient resources to pay for housing, and does not have a permanent place to live; would be at risk of homelessness if housing services were removed
   4. At risk of institutionalization – meets an institutional level of care/eligible for the following waivers:
      1. Brain Injury (BI)
      2. Community Access for Disability Inclusion (CADI)
      3. Community Alternative Care (CAC)
      4. Developmental Disability (DD)
      5. Elderly Waiver (EW)

Enrolling Eligible Members

People who need housing stabilization services can self-refer or be supported by a provider or case manager. If a person has a targeted case manager or waiver case manager, that case manager may support them to access services, or the person can self-refer and contact a HSS provider directly to help them receive HSS.

HSS (either the housing consultation, housing transition, or housing sustaining) providers submit eligibility documentation and assessment outcomes for the HSS program through the Housing Stabilization Services Eligibility Request form (DHS-7948) to determine medical need for services. This includes:

1. An assessment (MNChoices, Professional Statement of Need [PSN], or coordinated entry assessment). The assessment must not be more than 12 months old at the time of HSS eligibility review.
2. Proof of disability (PSN, medical opinion form, SSI/SSDI recipient)
3. Person-Centered Plan (community services and support plan, coordinated care plan [seniors], housing-focused person-centered plan)

DHS staff use the results of the independent assessment to determine whether the member meets the needs-based criteria to receive the service. Once needs-based criteria are determined, DHS notifies the provider through the MN−ITS mailbox and the member via U.S. Postal Service that services may start. The notification is a letter of approval or denial for HSS.

DHS notifies PrimeWest Health through the MN–ITS mailbox and DHS Enrollment File. In the event the notification is not received by PrimeWest Health, the provider must send a copy of the letter of approval to PrimeWest Health at care.management@primewest.org for claim payment consideration.

This same process is used for initial evaluation and reevaluation. Providers use the Housing Stabilization Services Eligibility Request Form to submit member information for review. 

Covered and Non-Covered Services

The following three services are provided as part of HSS. 

1. Housing Consultation – service to develop a person-centered plan for people without MA case management services
2. Housing Transition – service that supports a person to find housing
3. Housing Sustaining – service that supports a person to maintain housing

See the Housing Stabilization Services section of the DHS Provider Manual for information about each service, including service descriptions, covered and non-covered services when applicable, limitations, and provider standards and qualifications.

Effect on other services

HSS may affect other services a person may be receiving. See the Housing Stabilization Services section of the DHS Provider Manual for more information on the effects on other services.

HCBS conflict of interest rule and exceptions

HSS must adhere to the HCBS conflict of interest requirement. This requirement states that the agency that assesses a person or creates a person’s person-centered service plan cannot be the same agency that provides the housing transition or housing sustaining service unless there is a DHS-approved agency exception. See the Housing Stabilization Services section of the DHS Provider Manual for more information about conflict of interests and the State exception rules.

Provider Change Request

Effective April 4, 2022, when a member is approved through a Provider Change Request, the eligibility start date with the new provider is the date the request is approved by Housing Stabilization Services staff at DHS. (Previously, the eligibility start date for a Provider Change Request was the date the request was submitted.)

This update allows the previous provider to work with and bill for time spent with the member up to the date that the request is approved by Housing Stabilization Services staff.

DHS will notify the previous provider via email when a provider change occurs. The email includes the member name, the date the change is effective, and the last day the provider can bill for services.

Billing

HSS agencies must follow general PrimeWest Health billing policies and guidelines in the Billing Requirements section of the PrimeWest Health Provider Manual when submitting claims to PrimeWest Health.

Documentation requirements

Providers must follow PrimeWest Health documentation requirements, which include Health Service Records.

• Documentation may be collected and maintained electronically or on paper by providers and must be produced upon request by PrimeWest Health
• Documentation of a delivered service must be in English and legible.
• If the service is reimbursed at an hourly or specified minute-based rate, documentation, unless otherwise specified, must include the following:
  • The date the documentation occurred
  • The day, month, and year the service was provided
  • The start and stop times with a.m. and p.m. designations, except for person-centered planning services
  • The service name or description of the service provided
  • The name, signature, and title, if any, of the service provider
    • If the service is provided by multiple staff members, the provider may designate a staff member responsible for verifying services and completing the documentation
  • When remote support service delivery occurs, providers must also include the following:
    • Method of contact
    • Place of service (e.g., office or community)

Remote support is limited to no more than half of the annual direct service provision for transition and sustaining services. See the Housing Stabilization Services section of the DHS Provider Manual for more information about remote support.

For more information on documentation requirements, review MN Stat. 256B.051, subd. 8, for housing stabilization services, and MN Rules part 9505.2175, subps. 1 and 2, for general health records. Additional requirements for remote support are specified in the Federally approved 1915 State plan HCBS document.

Review Claims Submission for billing instructions.

HSS Codes and Descriptions

*Include U4 modifier if billing for remote support

Remote Support

Add modifier U4 to any consultation or transition or sustaining claim submission in MN–ITS when billing direct/remote support units. Housing consultation is billed using only one unit. Use the U4 modifier on the claim submission if any portion of housing consultation has been done remotely.

Direct/Remote support is limited to no more than 50 percent of the annual Direct Support provision for transition and sustaining services. Any Direct/Remote support units billed should be on a separate line from other Direct/In Person or Indirect services provided. Refer to the Housing Stabilization Services: Direct, Indirect and Remote Services Chart for information about service limits.

Moving Expenses

Housing Stabilization Services Moving Expenses are a component of Housing Stabilization-Transition Services. Moving Expenses are reimbursed to providers for certain expenses paid for people who are receiving Housing Stabilization-Transition services. Members must be transitioning out of a Medicaid-funded institution or leaving a provider-operated living arrangement and moving into their own home.

Moving expenses must be approved and clearly identified in the Housing Focused Person-Centered plan, Coordinated Support Services Plan or Coordinated Care Plan. Refer to the Moving Expenses section of the DHS Housing Stabilization Services policy web page for information about member qualifications, eligible living situations, what is covered and not covered, limitations, and provider responsibilities. Moving expenses are non-recurring and capped a maximum of $3,000 within an approved Housing Stabilization Services eligibility span.

To bill and be reimbursed for Housing Stabilization Services Moving Expenses, providers must include an electronic claim attachment with their electronic claim. The Attachment Control Number entered on the claim must match the Attachment Control Number on the Minnesota Administrative Uniformity Committee (AUC) cover sheet the provider will fax to PrimeWest Health with supporting receipts. Receipts must be for covered expenses only and must include the items, the name of the organization where the items were purchased, the date, and the amount of the purchase. The amount of the receipt must equal the line-item amount entered on the claim. Do not include noncovered items on the receipts you are submitting.

Bill multiple purchases that occur on the same date using the total amount of the purchases for the line-item charge and bill only one unit.

Limits

Housing consultation services are available once annually. Additional sessions are allowed if a person wants to change his/her housing transition or housing sustaining provider or experiences a significant change in circumstance that requires a new person-centered plan.

Housing transition services are limited to 150 hours per transition.

Housing sustaining services are limited to 150 hours annually.

Providers may request an additional 150 hours beyond these limits and DHS will determine necessity.

Billing Procedure Codes

To bill 15-minute procedure codes for time spent providing housing transition or housing sustaining services, providers must provide at least 8 minutes of a service. For example, if a service is provided for at least 8 – 22 minutes, bill that service as one unit. If the same service is provided for at least 23 minutes, bill that service for at least two units, etc.

Housing consultation is a session code and must be billed as one unit.

Diagnosis Codes for Housing Stabilization Services

• Developmental disability: F84.9
• Learning disability: F81.89
• Mental illness: F99
• Physical illness, injury, or impairment: R69
• Chemical dependency: F19.20

Per the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), effective July 1, 2021, Long-Term Homeless Supportive Housing, Metro Demo, and Housing with Services Independent Living providers who provide Housing Support Supplemental Services to members also approved to receive Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) will have a 50 percent reduction to the Housing Support Supplemental Services rate. This rate reduction does not apply to Housing Support providers in other types of programs.

HSS and Housing Support staff will work together to monitor approvals for HSS. The Housing Support Supplemental Services rate will be reduced after a member’s approval for HSS is confirmed.

Claims submitted with the full Housing Supplemental Services rate on or after July 1, 2021, will be adjusted, with the rate reduction effective as of the member's effective approval date for HSS.

Providers may request training on proper billing for HSS by contacting the PrimeWest Health Provider Contact Center at 1-866-431-0802 (toll free) and requesting a training session.

Updated_11/05/2025