Emergency Medical Assistance

Overview

Emergency Medical Assistance (EMA) covers emergency care services for Minnesota residents who meet financial and other requirements for Medical Assistance (MA) but are not eligible for MA because of their immigration status.

EMA covers the health care and medical services needed to treat an emergency medical condition (including labor and delivery) as defined in federal law.

Covered services

EMA covers the health care and medical services needed to treat emergency medical conditions that, if people don’t get medical care within 24 to 48 hours, will do the following:

  • Place an individual’s health in serious jeopardy
  • Cause serious impairment to bodily functions
  • Cause serious dysfunction to any organs or body parts   

EMA covers the following services without prior approval: Care and services provided in an emergency department and inpatient hospital if you are admitted after being in the emergency department.

Any services provided after emergency department treatment and inpatient admission need approval by the Minnesota Department of Human Services medical reviewer (the provider starts this process) and include the following:

  • Skilled nursing facility
  • Home care services
  • Dialysis services
  • Cancer treatment (does not include the work-up to diagnose the cancer)
  • Kidney transplants
  • Psychiatric care 
  • Emergency dental care
  • Personal care assistant services
  • Prescription drugs

Refer to the Emergency Medical Assistance (EMA) section on the Summary of Coverage, Cost Sharing and Limits (DHS-3860) (PDF) for more information on coverage.

Limits on services

Services not covered by EMA include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Nonemergency services delivered in an emergency department or inpatient setting
  • Transplants (other than certain kidney transplants) 
  • Routine prenatal care 
  • Continuing care 
  • Elective surgery 
  • Preventive health care and family planning services 
  • Rehabilitation services; physical, occupational, and speech therapy services 
  • Nonemergency transportation for routine or preventive care 
  • Case management 
  • Dental services 
  • Vision services and eyeglasses 
  • Waiver services 
  • Substance use disorder treatment

Eligibility

You must meet all MA eligibility requirements (such as income and asset limits and residency) except those related to immigration status.

The requirements depend on what “category” you meet for MA coverage. Examples of categories are children under 19 years of age, parents, and people age 65 or older.

Apply for EMA

You can apply for EMA with a paper application. You can get help through a navigator or your local county or tribal office. Use one of these applications to apply depending on your situation: