Division of Medicaid

A. Income is either earned or unearned. B. Different rules apply to each type of income. C. Some examples of the types of income are listed below:1. Earned income consists of the following types of payments:a) Wages; b) Net earnings from self-employment (NESE); c) Payments for se…

A. Whether earned or unearned, income may be received in either of two forms: 1. Cash, which is currency, checks, money orders or Electronic Funds Transfers (EFTs), such as: a) Social Security; b) Unemployment Compensation; c) Wages. 2. In-kind items, such as: a) Shelter; b) Food…

A. A garnishment or seizure is a withholding of an amount from earned or unearned income in order to satisfy a debt or legal obligation. Amounts withheld from earned or unearned income to satisfy a debt or legal obligation are income for Medicaid purposes. 1. Example: Ms. Jones' …

A. Generally, count income in the earliest month it is:1. Received by the individual; 2. Credited to an individual's account; or 3. Set aside for an individual's use. B. For Medicaid eligibility purposes, all income is determined monthly and counted in the month the income is rec…

A. Monies received by an individual in his capacity as an agent on another's behalf (such as a representative payee) are not income to him. However, monies a person receives for his own use (not paid on behalf of another) must be evaluated under regular income rules. 1. Example: …

A. The following explains how to charge income in situations involving joint bank accounts held by Medicaid applicants/recipients with other individuals: 1. Eligible with Ineligible. When an applicant/recipient and an ineligible individual hold a joint bank account, the full amou…

A. Generally, if the client has a right to the income from the principal of a trust or conservatorship, it is income to him as it becomes available. B. If the client has no right to the income from the trust/conserved funds, then only the payments actually paid from the trust wou…

A. Some items received by an individual are not income because they do not meet the definition of income. Other items are income by definition, but are excluded from an individual's income by federal statute. Only those items specifically listed in the law and regulations can be …

A. An exclusion is an amount of income which does not count in determining eligibility and payment amount. B. Exclusions never reduce income below zero. C. There are three statutory exclusions that apply to both earned and unearned income, as follows: 1. General Exclusion; 2. Inf…

A. A general income exclusion of either $50 or $20 per month is applied based on whether the program operates under liberalized or strict SSI income policy. 1. Under liberalized income policy, the general exclusion is $50 for the following programs: a) Qualified Medicare Benefici…

A. For this exclusion to apply, the earned or unearned income must be received infrequently or irregularly, as defined below. This provision does not apply to unearned income that is subject to other exclusions, i.e., infrequent or irregular child support, subject to the one-thir…

A. The Social Security Act permits the exclusion of income and resources of a person who is blind or disabled if the person needs such income to fulfill a Plan for Achieving Self-Support under an approved plan. 1. This exclusion applies to a blind or disabled individual under age…

A. While the source and amount of all earned income must be determined, not all earned income counts when determining Medicaid eligibility. 1. First, any earned income excluded by federal law must be disregarded. 2. Then the applicable income exclusions discussed in this section …

A. The EITC is a special tax credit that reduces the federal tax liability and results in a payment to the low-income taxpayer, either as advance from the employer or a refund from IRS. Exclude the EITC received either as an advance or as a refund. B. The CTC is a special refunda…

A. Effective April 1, 2005, the Student Earned Income Exclusion was extended to all individuals who are working students under the age of 22, not just those who meet the SSI definition of a child.1. The SEIE will apply to earnings deemed from an ineligible spouse or parent(s) and…

A. $65 per month of earned income plus one-half of the remaining earned income in the month is excluded in the order listed in Rule 5.1. Notes 23 Miss. Code. R. 104-5.4 Social Security Act §1902 (r)(2); 42 CFR §435.601(b) (Rev 1994).

A. IRWE expenses are for items or services which are directly related to enabling a person with a disability (other than blindness) to work and which are necessarily incurred by that individual because of a physical or mental impairment. B. Any earned income of a person who is di…

A. BWE represents any earned income of a blind person which is used to meet any expenses reasonably attributable to earning the income. B. Exclude BWE from earned income if the blind person is under age 65, or is age 65 or older and received SSI and Medicaid or disability payment…

A. Unearned income is all income that is not earned income. Notes 23 Miss. Code. R. 104-6.1 Social Security Act §1902 (r)(2); 42 CFR §435.601(b) (Rev 1994).

A. Income based on need is assistance which is:1. Provided under a program which uses income as a factor eligibility; and 2. Funded wholly or partially by the federal government or a nongovernmental agency (e.g., Catholic Charities or Salvation Army) for the purpose of meeting ba…

A. Assistance based on need is assistance which is: 1. Provided under a program which uses income as a factor of eligibility; and 2. Funded wholly by a state, a political subdivision of a state or a combination of such jurisdictions. B. Assistance based on need is excluded from i…

A. Unearned income is counted as income in the earliest month it is: 1. Received by the individual; 2. Credited to the individual's account; or 3. Set aside for the individual's use. Notes 23 Miss. Code. R. 104-6.2 Social Security Act §1902 (r)(2); 42 CFR §435.601(b) (Rev 1994).…

A. An exclusion is an amount of income that does not count in determining eligibility and payment amount.1. Except for the $50/$20 general exclusion, no other unused unearned income exclusion may be applied to earned income. Notes 23 Miss. Code. R. 104-6.3 Social Security Act §19…

A. The amount of unearned income which must be counted in determining eligibility for Medicaid is the gross amount due the client; however, the gross amount of unearned income may be reduced by certain expenses that are an essential factor in obtaining a particular payment(s). B.…

A. Unearned income includes that part of a benefit that has been withheld to recover a previous overpayment. B. However, the amount withheld to reduce a prior overpayment is not included as income if double counting would result. 1. Double counting (counting the unearned income t…

A. Unearned income includes amounts withheld because of a garnishment or to make certain other payments (such as Medicare premiums). B. Unearned income includes amounts withheld whether the withholding is:1. Purely voluntary; 2. To repay a debt; or 3. To meet a legal obligation. …

A. If any of the types of deductions listed in Rule 6.6 above are later returned to the individual by the original source, agency or organization which received the deduction (e.g., refund of Medicare premiums), the refunded amounts cannot again be income. B. Refunded amounts can…

A. Occasionally, an individual receives income tendered in a monetary unit other than US dollars, usually in the form of a check or a direct deposit to a bank. B. The US dollar value of a payment made in foreign currency, less expenses, is income. 1. Foreign currency payments are…

A. Deemed income is unearned income attributed to an applicant or recipient for Medicaid eligibility from an ineligible spouse or parent. 1. Deeming only applies in household situations. 2. There is no deeming of income in any month of institutionalization and deemed income is no…

A. These types of income are defined as follows: 1. An annuity is a sum paid yearly or at other specific times in return for the payment of a fixed sum. Annuities may be purchased by an individual or by an employer. 2. Pensions and retirement benefits are payments to a worker fol…

A. The Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard pay military pensions to military retirees and survivors normally on the first day of the month. B. There are three categories of beneficiaries who may be entitled to military payments: 1. Retiree. A person with 20 years …

A. This type of income is defined as follows: 1. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has numerous programs that make payments to recipients and their families. The most common types of VA payments discussed in this section are: a) Pensions; b) Compensation; c) Educational Ass…

A. The following is information about VA pensions:1. Pension payments are based on a combination of service, an age of 65 or over and a nonservice-connected disability or death. 2. All VA pension payments are based on need, except those noted later under this rule. 3. VA may cons…

A. Compensation payments are based on service-connected disability or death and may be based on need. B. The following are types of compensation payments and their treatment: 1. Death Compensation and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) payments to a surviving parent of a…

A. VA provides educational assistance under a number of different programs, including vocational rehabilitation. Veterans, dependents and survivors of veterans may be eligible for educational benefits. Depending on the nature of the program, different SSI/Medicaid income and reso…

A. VA often considers the existence of dependents when determining a veteran's or veteran's surviving spouse's eligibility for pension, compensation and educational benefits by the following:1. Apportionment. This is direct payment of the dependent's portion of VA benefits to a d…

A. A VA clothing allowance is not income for eligibility or Medicaid Income purposes. Notes 23 Miss. Code. R. 104-7.16 Social Security Act §1902 (r)(2); 42 CFR §435.601(b) (Rev 1994).

A. These VA payments are made to, or on behalf of, the natural children of veterans, regardless of age or marital status, who are in the following categories: 1. Vietnam veterans' children for any disability resulting from spina bifida; 2. Korea service veterans' children for any…

A. VA Aid and Attendance and Housebound Allowances are not counted as income for eligibility purposes and must be excluded from the total VA payment when determining eligibility. 1. In addition, these payments are not considered third party payments. B. Anyone in a nursing home w…

A. VA considers unusual medical expenses when determining some needs-based pension and compensation payments. B. These VA payments resulting from unusual medical expenses are treated as follows: 1. They are not income for eligibility or Medicaid Income purposes. 2. These payments…

A. This type of income is defined as follows: 1. Retirement, Survivors and Disability Insurance are monthly Social Security benefits which are counted as unearned income.a) Special age 72 benefits, also known as Prouty benefits, are also counted as unearned income. B. This type o…

A. Under the deeming provision, the income of an ineligible spouse or parent who receives income based on need is not deemed to an eligible spouse or child in at-home cases. B. The needs-based pension and needs-based compensation payments are non-deemable along with any other inc…

A. If the institutional client (IS) with a community spouse (CS) receives non-countable income from UME or A&A, the CS will be allowed to receive the IS' payment attributable to UME or A&A in addition to the CS allocation amount computed in the Medicaid Income computation. 1. If …

A. Only basic VA benefits (as verified by VA) are counted as an Income Trust client's total income available to fund the Income Trust. 1. Any UME (or A&A), which is not counted as income, can be retained by the client and/or spouse, as discussed in the above rule. Notes 23 Miss. …

A. Certain veterans qualify for VA contract payments which cover nursing home care for one to six months; however, veterans with a service-connected disability may not be subject to the six-month limit. B. Treatment of these individuals is as follows:1. Eligibility for Medicaid b…

A. Federal law limits the maximum pension that can be paid to or for veterans, who have neither a spouse nor a child, or surviving spouses (widows or widowers) without children who are covered by Medicaid for services furnished by a nursing facility to a maximum of $90. 1. The re…

A. When the spouse of an applicant or recipient receives Income Based on Need (IBON), the source of the IBON may count a portion of the VA benefit as income to the spouse receiving the IBON. This amount counted by the IBON source will be deducted from the countable VA benefit ver…