This bill introduces a presumptive disability determination process for medical assistance eligibility in Minnesota, making significant amendments to the Minnesota Statutes. Notably, it replaces the term "aged or blind persons or persons with disabilities" with "persons age 65 or older" in section 256B.055, subdivision 7, and adds a new subdivision (7b) that allows medical assistance for individuals age 64 or younger who meet specific criteria related to the Supplemental Security Income program. Furthermore, it requires that applicants who do not meet the medical assistance criteria be referred to the state medical review team for a disability determination. The bill also includes provisions for presumptive eligibility determinations by qualified hospitals, which will evaluate applicants based on their medical conditions and urgency of needs.

In addition to these changes, the bill establishes new eligibility verification requirements for women seeking to continue medical assistance coverage after the 12-month postpartum period, mandating updates to income and asset information. The commissioner is tasked with assessing private-sector health care coverage for infants under one year and ensuring thorough asset and income verification for all applicants. The bill emphasizes the use of electronic data sources for real-time eligibility determinations and expands definitions of eligible individuals for certain medical assistance programs. It also requires individuals to authorize the commissioner to access financial information for asset verification, with the potential consequence of ineligibility for refusal. All amendments are set to take effect on July 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduction: 256B.055, 256B.056, 256B.057, 245D.02, 256.01, 256B.0761, 256B.77