North Dakota Administrative Code
Title 75 - Department of Human Services
Article 75-02 - Economic Assistance
Chapter 75-02-02 - Medical Services
Section 75-02-02-09.5 - Limitations on personal care services

1. No payment for personal care services may be made unless an assessment of the recipient is made by the department or the department's designee and the recipient is determined to be impaired in at least one of the activities of daily living of bathing, dressing, eating, incontinence, mobility, toileting, and transferring or in at least three of the instrumental activities of daily living of medication assistance, laundry, housekeeping, and meal preparation.

2. No payment may be made for personal care services unless prior authorization has been granted by the department.

3. Payment for personal care services may only be made to an enrolled qualified service provider who meets the standards described in chapter 75-03-23 or to a basic care assistance provider that qualifies for a rate under 75-02-07.1.

4. No payment may be made for personal care services provided in excess of the services, hours, or time frame authorized by the department in the recipient's approved service plan.

5. Personal care services may not include skilled health care services performed by individuals with professional training.

6. An inpatient or resident of a hospital, a nursing facility, an intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities, a psychiatric residential treatment facility, or an institution for mental diseases may not receive personal care services.

7. Personal care services may not include home-delivered meals, services performed primarily as housekeeping tasks, transportation, social activities, or services or tasks not directly related to the needs of the recipient such as doing laundry for family members, cleaning of areas not occupied by the recipient, shopping for items not used by the recipient, or for tasks when they are completed for the benefit of both the recipient and the provider.

8. Payment for the tasks of laundry, shopping, meal preparation, money management, and communication may be made to a provider if the activity benefits the recipient. The department may pay a provider for housekeeping activities involving the recipient's personal private space and if the recipient is living with an adult, the recipient's share of common living space.

9. Meal preparation is limited to the maximum units set by the department. Laundry, shopping, and housekeeping tasks when provided as personal care services must be incidental to the provision of other personal care tasks and cannot exceed thirty percent of the total time authorized for the provision of all personal care tasks. Personal care service tasks of laundry, shopping, and housekeeping are limited to the maximum units set by the department, and the cap cannot be exceeded under other home and community-based services funding sources.

10. No payment may be made for personal care services provided to a recipient by the recipient's spouse, parent of a minor child, or legal guardian.

11. No payment may be made for care needs of a recipient which are outside the scope of personal care services.

12. Authorized personal care services may only be approved for:

13. Personal care services may be provided to a recipient who has natural supports. For purposes of this subsection, "natural supports" means an informal, unpaid caregiver that provides care to an applicant or recipient.

14. Personal care services may not be provided for tasks that are otherwise age appropriate or generally needed by an individual within the normal stages of development.

15. The authorization for personal care services may be terminated if the services are not used within sixty days, or if services lapse for at least sixty days, after the issuance of the authorization to provide personal care services.

16. The department may deny or terminate personal care services when service to the recipient presents an immediate threat to the health or safety of the recipient, the provider of services, or others, or when services that are available are not adequate to prevent a threat to the health or safety of the recipient, the provider of services, or others.

17. Decisions regarding personal care services for an incapacitated recipient are health care decisions that may be made pursuant to North Dakota Century Code section 23-12-13.

18. The applicant or guardian of the applicant shall provide information sufficient to establish eligibility for benefits, including a social security number, proof of age, identity, residence, blindness, disability, functional limitation, financial eligibility, and such other information as may be required by this chapter for each month for which benefits are sought.

19. Payment for personal care services may not be made unless the recipient has been determined eligible to receive Medicaid benefits.

20. A daily rate for personal care may be authorized, at the discretion of the department, when determined necessary to maintain a recipient in the least restrictive setting.