What the statute says
Subdivision 20 of Minnesota Statutes section 256B.0949, titled "Billing limits," says that effective July 1, 2027, or upon federal approval, whichever is later, four limits apply to early intensive developmental and behavioral intervention (EIDBI) services. Intensive services are limited to 40 hours per week per recipient. Travel is limited to two hours per day per recipient. Observation and direction is limited to 20 hours per week per recipient. Individual treatment and planning is limited to 300 units per year per recipient.
Paragraph (b) requires the commissioner to grant exceptions to those limits when services above them are determined to be medically necessary. A provider must apply to the commissioner for an exception on the forms and in the manner the commissioner prescribes, and a determination under that paragraph is final and not subject to appeal. The subdivision has only these two paragraphs. The Department of Human Services listed the same four limits and the same exception in its July 2026 Disability Services Division quarterly update.
What we have not verified
The statute page shows one history note for the whole section, so we cannot say from the page which session law added subdivision 20. We have not seen whether federal approval has been requested or granted, so we cannot say whether July 1, 2027 or a later date will control. We have not read any DHS guidance on how the exception application will work, what documentation it will require, or how the units are counted. The statute does not say whether the limits apply per provider or across all providers serving a recipient; the text says "per recipient."
Analysis: The limits are written per recipient, and the only relief valve is an exception the commissioner decides without appeal. For a Minnesota EIDBI agency, that moves medical necessity documentation from an audit defense to a billing prerequisite for any recipient who is authorized above 40 intensive hours a week, above 20 hours of observation and direction, or above two hours of daily travel. For a buyer or lender, it is a revenue diligence item: ask the seller for a recipient level report of billed hours against these four limits and for the proportion of revenue that sits above them. Ask Minnesota counsel and DHS in writing how the exception process will run before pricing any of it.
This brief rests on the primary source linked above. Education only; nothing here is legal advice.
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