Essential Community Providers

An Essential Community provider (ECP) is a health care provider that serves high-risk, special needs, and underserved individuals. In order to be designated as an ECP, a provider must demonstrate that it meets the requirements of Minnesota Statutes 62Q.19 and Minnesota Rules Chapter 4688. Those regulations require that ECPs:

• Provide or coordinate supportive and stabilizing services, such as transportation, child care, linguistic services, and culturally sensitive and competent services to its clients.
• Serve all patients, regardless of their financial limitations.
• Charge patients for their services based on a sliding fee schedule, if the ECP is a non-profit organization.

The Minnesota Department of Health designates ECPs. Health plan companies must offer provider contracts to all designated ECPs in their service areas.

Click on the link below for an application to be designated as an Essential Community Provider:

Application to be Designated as an Essential Community Provider (PDF:21.49kb:4 pages)

Go to Frequently Asked Questions about Essential Community Providers

Additional information (click links below):

• List of current Essential Community Providers
• Essential Community Provider law ( Minnesota Statutes Chapter 62Q.19) and rule (Minnesota Rules Chapter 4688)

For more information, contact the Managed Care Systems Section at (651) 201-5100 or health.mcs.state.mn.us.

To view the PDF files, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download from Adobe's Web site).

For questions about this page, please contact the Minnesota Department of Health's Compliance Monitoring Division, Managed Care Section: health.mcs@state.mn.us

See also > Compliance Monitoring Division Home Page