Recognizing the health impacts of housing instability, the Minnesota state Medicaid agency has implemented its Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) Medicaid benefit, a home and community-based service that supports people with disabilities to live, work, and play in communities of their choice. , The purposes of HSS are to help support individual in transitioning into housing, increase long-term stability in housing in the community, and avoid additional periods of homelessness or institutionalization. Over the past several years, the service has experienced significant growth both in terms of people served and providers enrolled. Based on this growth, Minnesota seeks help to improve coordination between this Medicaid service and other health care and housing resources. The Accelerator aligns with efforts to use Minnesota’s Medicaid authority to drive improvements in health, to close disparities in access and health outcomes, and to address social determinants of health. Through the Accelerator, the state hopes to identify how HSS providers can use their services to help enrollees access appropriate health care in more consistent way, and to connect to other programs that support affordable and stable housing.

Led by the state Medicaid agency, the Minnesota team includes representation from housing, aging and disability services and behavioral health partners.