Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Updates for health care workers, license holders, county and tribal workers, grantees and other program administrators

Expect instructions for partners related to actions and process changes through regular communication channels including email messages and websites.

• Bulletins
• CountyLink
• DHS website for Partners and Providers
• DHS SIR

Latest news

Human Services launches new benefits for school children 
To ensure 350,000 Minnesota school children who qualify for the federal free and reduced-price meal program have access to healthy food, the Minnesota Department of Human Services, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Education and Code for America, recently launched the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer, also referred to as P-EBT, benefit.

Bulletin released 
Some individuals who are adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic were eligible for state and federal economic support. This documentation explains how relief payments affect eligibility for Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) during the COVID-19 peacetime emergency.

Final deadline for fingerprint and photo background studies 
The Department of Human Services has set June 30, 2020, as the final deadline for study subjects to have their fingerprints and photo taken for background studies submitted before April 6, 2020 when DHS temporarily modified its background studies processes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read more news

Federal actions affecting human service programs

Supplemental Security Income recipients will receive automatic COVID-19 economic impact payments 
April 15, 2020 — SSI recipients with dependent children should still provide their information at IRS.gov. The U.S. Social Security Administration announced that Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients will receive automatic economic impact payments directly from the U.S. Treasury Department. The Treasury Department anticipates these automatic payments no later than early May.

Internal Revenue Service launches web tool for non-filers for stimulus payments
April 13, 2020 — The IRS launched a web tool for for people who don't file income taxes to be able to enter payment information to be able to receive the stimulus payments.

Federal funding opportunity: The COVID-19 Telehealth Program
April 13, 2020 — The Federal Communications Commission announced that its Wireline Competition Bureau is now accepting applications for $200 million in funding through the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. These funds, appropriated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, to help health care providers provide connected care services to patients at their homes or mobile locations in response to the novel Coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Read about more federal actions

Executive orders

Ensuring emergency economic relief does not prevent eligibility for essential human services programs
April 24, 2020 — Executive Order 20-42 instructs that certain payments received by Minnesotans as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic shall not be counted as income, assets, personal property, or resources when determining eligibility for programs administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS). For certain programs that are federally funded, DHS has sought federal approval as needed. 
Bulletin: Disregard of COVID-relief payments from calculations of income for Medicaid eligibility

Securing Federal Authority to Continue Programs
March 20, 2020 — Executive Order 20-11 authorizes the DHS commissioner to seek federal authority to temporarily waive or modify certain requirements for federal economic support, health care and other programs to ensure they continue to provide support to Minnesota families.

Preserving Access to Human Services Programs
March 20, 2020 — Executive Order 20-12 allows DHS to temporarily issue waivers or modifications to state requirements to ensure that their services can be delivered to Minnesotans safely and without undue delay.

Read all executive orders