The MnCHOICES assessment is the single in-home evaluation Minnesota uses to decide whether you qualify for publicly funded long-term services and supports, and if so, which ones. Counties, tribal nations, and managed care organizations conduct it on behalf of the Department of Human Services, and it replaced several older screenings so one visit covers you regardless of age, disability, or the specific services you may need.1Minnesota Department of Human Services. MnCHOICES The assessment itself is free and open to anyone with long-term care needs. Whether the state then pays for the services those needs call for is a separate question tied to Medical Assistance eligibility.
How to Request an Assessment
Any Minnesota resident with long-term or chronic care needs can request an assessment, regardless of age, income, or current enrollment in a health care program.2Minnesota Department of Human Services. Long-Term Care Consultation You do not need a doctor’s referral. Contact the county social services office where you live, your tribal nation, or the managed care organization that handles your coverage. The county where you are located at the time of the request is responsible for providing consultation services, even if you plan to move later.
Once you request an assessment, the lead agency must begin it within 20 working days.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 256B.0911 For a reassessment when you are already receiving services, the deadline is 20 calendar days from the request.4Minnesota Department of Human Services. CBSM – Assessment Applicability and Timelines These are statutory deadlines. If the agency stalls, cite them directly.
What the Assessment Costs and What Funding Requires
The assessment is free. Receiving state-funded services through a waiver program is separate, and it requires eligibility for Medical Assistance, Minnesota’s Medicaid program. The MnCHOICES visit measures your functional needs; Medical Assistance determines whether the state pays for the services those needs demand. You have to qualify on both tracks.
For waiver programs, the federal government applies a five-year look-back on asset transfers. If you gave away money or property for less than fair market value within 60 months before applying, you may face a penalty period of ineligibility. Some transfers are exempt, including transfers to a spouse, to a permanently disabled child, or of a home to a child under 21. Paying off debt, making home modifications like wheelchair ramps, and funding an irrevocable funeral trust are generally not counted as violations.
If you have a spouse who will keep living in the community while you receive waiver services, federal spousal impoverishment protections apply. For 2026, the Community Spouse Resource Allowance ranges from a minimum of $32,532 to a maximum of $162,660, meaning your spouse can keep at least that minimum in countable assets without disqualifying you.5Medicaid.gov. 2026 SSI, Spousal Impoverishment, and Medicare Savings Program Resource Standards
How to Prepare
The more organized you are, the more accurately the assessment captures your actual needs. An assessor who has to guess produces a less useful profile. Have this ready before the visit:
- Recent diagnoses, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits, plus a complete current medication list with dosages.
- Names and phone numbers for your primary care doctor, specialists, and therapists.
- An honest picture of how you handle bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, and moving around your home. Understating what you struggle with directly reduces the services you qualify for.
- Who currently helps you, what they do, and roughly how many hours per week. Note the gaps where help is missing.
- Fall risks, accessibility barriers, and needed modifications like grab bars or a ramp.
Some lead agencies send a pre-assessment questionnaire. If yours doesn’t, write your own notes. A first assessment covers a lot of ground in one sitting, and notes keep you from forgetting something important in the moment.
What Happens During the Visit
A certified assessor conducts the visit, usually in your home so they can see your living environment firsthand. Assessors hold at least a bachelor’s degree in social work, nursing with a public health certificate, or a closely related field, and they must complete a multi-step certification program before using the MnCHOICES system, with recertification every three years.6Minnesota Department of Human Services. CBSM – MnCHOICES Certified Assessors
The visit is a structured conversation. The assessor enters your responses into the MnCHOICES application in real time, building a profile of your strengths, needs, and preferences. Expect questions about where and how you want to live, what matters most to you day to day, how you handle personal care and household tasks, your physical and emotional health, and any barriers to your independence.7Minnesota Department of Human Services. MnCHOICES Assessment: Eligibility, Process and Support Plan A first assessment usually runs two to three hours; complex situations take longer.
Bring someone you trust. A family member, friend, or support worker who knows your routine can fill in details you might overlook or minimize. The assessor will not hold it against you for having someone there.
Remote Assessments
Minnesota allows remote assessments in some circumstances, but in-person remains the default for initial evaluations. Starting in 2026, reassessments may be conducted remotely for up to four consecutive cycles; the fifth-year reassessment must be in person.4Minnesota Department of Human Services. CBSM – Assessment Applicability and Timelines
The Two Plans That Come Out of It
The MnCHOICES process produces two different documents, and confusing them causes a lot of frustration.
The Community Support Plan (CSP) is completed for every person who receives an assessment, whether or not they qualify for funded services. It summarizes what the assessor learned during the visit and identifies next steps and community resources.8Minnesota Department of Human Services. CBSM – Support Planning Even if you don’t end up on a waiver, the CSP documents your situation.
The Coordinated Services and Supports Plan (CSSP) goes further. It is only completed if you are eligible for and choose to receive publicly funded home and community-based services or state plan services. The CSSP spells out your service choices, your preferences for how those services are delivered, and the authorized service categories with their allocated hours or dollar amounts. Service providers use it to bill the state for your care.8Minnesota Department of Human Services. CBSM – Support Planning
The certified assessor develops the CSP and sends it to you and your case manager. Your case manager then works with you to build the CSSP through a person-centered planning process. You choose the providers that fit your situation rather than being assigned to whoever is available.
What Services You May Qualify For
If your assessment confirms you need services beyond standard Medical Assistance, you may qualify for one of Minnesota’s home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers. Each waiver targets a specific population, and all require that you demonstrate a need for the level of care you would otherwise receive in an institutional setting.9Medicaid.gov. Home and Community-Based Services 1915(c)
- Elderly Waiver (EW): adults 65 and older who need nursing-facility-level care but choose to stay in the community.
- Community Access for Disability Inclusion (CADI): people with disabilities of any age who would otherwise need nursing facility care.
- Brain Injury (BI) Waiver: targeted supports for people with a brain injury diagnosis.
- Community Alternative Care (CAC) Waiver: people who need hospital-level care but can receive it in the community.
- Developmental Disabilities (DD) Waiver: supports for people with developmental disabilities, including residential and day services.
Minnesota eliminated the waiting lists for the CAC, CADI, and BI waivers in 2016, and formal waitlists are no longer in effect for the DD Waiver either, though DD funding still runs through approval within specified timelines.10Minnesota Department of Human Services. Waiver Program Waitlist
These waivers fund a wide range of services: professional caregivers, home modifications, specialized equipment, assistive technology, day programs, and more. What is authorized for you depends on what the assessment identifies and what your CSSP lays out.
Personal Care Assistance
Personal Care Assistance (PCA) is one of the most common services accessed through MnCHOICES. To qualify, you must live in the community rather than a facility, be enrolled in Medical Assistance or an MA waiver, have an assessment that determines eligibility, and be able to direct your own care or have a representative who can.11Minnesota Department of Human Services. Personal Care Assistance (PCA) Minnesota is transitioning PCA to a newer program called Community First Services and Supports (CFSS), and your assessor will discuss both options during the visit.
Self-Directed Care Through CDCS
If you want more control over how services are delivered, Consumer Directed Community Supports (CDCS) lets you manage your own care budget. Instead of receiving pre-assigned services through an agency, you design supports around your assessed needs, decide when to receive them, and hire the people you want, including parents and spouses.12Minnesota Department of Human Services. Consumer-Directed Community Supports To use CDCS, your assessment must find you eligible for Alternative Care, the BI Waiver, the CAC Waiver, the CADI Waiver, the DD Waiver, or the Elderly Waiver. Your lead agency calculates a budget based on your assessment, and you allocate those dollars across the services you choose, which can include nontraditional supports, specialized therapies, assistive technology, supplies, and home or vehicle modifications.
Reassessments
An MnCHOICES assessment is not one and done. Your lead agency must reassess you every year to keep your plan matched to your actual needs. The timing depends on the program:
- Alternative Care, ECS, and Elderly Waiver: within 60 days before the end of your current service agreement or eligibility span, and no later than 365 days from your last in-person assessment.
- BI, CAC, CADI, DD Waivers, and CFSS: within 60 days before the end of your current service agreement. If you don’t have a service agreement, by the anniversary month of your last assessment.4Minnesota Department of Human Services. CBSM – Assessment Applicability and Timelines
If your condition changes significantly between annual reassessments, you, your case manager, or anyone acting for you can request an early reassessment. The lead agency must complete early assessments in a timely manner and expedite urgent requests based on your needs and the risks of delay.4Minnesota Department of Human Services. CBSM – Assessment Applicability and Timelines Don’t wait for the anniversary if a fall, hospitalization, or new diagnosis changes what you need.
If you are on a waiver waiting list, you must also receive an annual reassessment by the anniversary month of your last assessment to remain on the list.4Minnesota Department of Human Services. CBSM – Assessment Applicability and Timelines
How to Appeal a Decision
If you disagree with the result, whether you were found ineligible, your services were reduced, or the authorized hours don’t match your actual needs, you have the right to appeal. The deadlines are tight.
You must submit a written appeal within 30 days after receiving the written notice of the county or state decision. Use Minnesota’s Appeal to State Agency form (DHS-0033) and send it to your county or tribal nation or directly to the DHS Appeals Division.13Minnesota Department of Human Services. CBSM – Appeals Process Up to 90 days may be allowed on a showing of good cause, but don’t rely on that. File within 30 days.
When services are being changed, the county or state must send written notice on the Notice of Action form (DHS-2828) explaining the intended action, the reasons, and your appeal rights.14Minnesota Department of Human Services. Appeals Hearings and Reconsiderations
Keeping Services During the Appeal
This is where people lose the most ground. If you are already receiving services and you appeal a reduction or termination, you can keep your benefits at the previous level while the appeal is pending, but you must request continuation of services within 10 days of receiving the notice of action.13Minnesota Department of Human Services. CBSM – Appeals Process Miss that window and services can be cut while you wait for the hearing. Federal regulations reinforce this: if you request a hearing before the effective date of the action, the agency generally may not reduce services until a decision issues.15eCFR. 42 CFR Part 431 Subpart E – Fair Hearings for Applicants and Beneficiaries
The Hearing
After you file, the DHS Appeals Division schedules a hearing. Your county or tribal nation prepares an appeal summary and must send it to you at least three days before the hearing. The chief human services judge must issue a final decision within 90 days of your appeal request.13Minnesota Department of Human Services. CBSM – Appeals Process If either side disagrees, a request for reconsideration must be filed within 30 calendar days, and the Appeals Division rules on that request within another 30 days.