.252 Averaging Expenses

All households may elect to have fluctuating expenses or payments for the child support deduction averaged. Households may also elect to have expenses which are billed less often than monthly averaged forward over the interval between scheduled billings, or, if there is no scheduled interval, averaged forward over the period the expenses are intended to cover (such as local property taxes and fire insurance). (See Section 63-502.352.) The household may elect to have one-time only expenses averaged over the entire certification period in which they are billed. (a) Households reporting medical expenses, as specified in Section 63-502.331, during their certification period, with no specified payment schedule, may elect to have a one-time only deduction or to have the expense averaged over the remaining months of their certification period. Averaging would begin in the month the change becomes effective and only the amount in excess of that specified in Handbook Section 63-1101.25 shall be deducted each month. FOOD STAMP REGULATIONS (Continued) (1) Households certified for 24 months that report a one-time medical expense during the first 12 months of the certification period have the option to: (A) Deduct the expense for one month; or (B) Average the expense over the remaining first 12 months of the certification period; or (C) Average the expense over the remaining months in the certification period. (2) Households certified for 24 months that report a one-time medical expense after the 12th month of the certification period has an option to: (A) Deduct the expense for one month; or (B) Average the expense over the remaining months in the certification period. (b) When the eligible household member has a written agreement, contract, or other type of written plan for payment of billed medical expenses, the stipulated amount of monthly payment shall be the base for determining the monthly excess medical expenses. Fluctuating medical expenses may be averaged over the certification period. Households may elect to average medical expenses billed less often than monthly over the certification period or claim such expenses in the month received. Medical expenses averaged over the certification period shall not be determined by automatically averaging past months' medical expenses. Past expenses shall be used only as an indicator of the expenses that are estimated or reasonably anticipated during the certification period. Fluctuating medical expenses may be allowed as a deduction and averaged over the certification period only if regularly recurring, reasonably anticipated and verified to recur over the certification period. Fluctuating medical expenses include, but are not limited to: medical service and treatments received regularly, but less often than monthly, and fluctuating monthly health expenses for prescription drugs. Expenses that occur and are reported and verified during the certification period that were not anticipated and deducted shall be considered one-time only expenses and may be deducted in the month billed, when the bill otherwise becomes due, or averaged over the remaining months of the certification period. FOOD STAMP REGULATIONS Regulations ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS 63-503 (Cont.) (Continued) (c) Section 63-503.252(c)(MR) shall become inoperative in a county on the date QR/PB becomes effective in that county, pursuant to the Director's QR/PB Declaration. (MR) For retrospectively budgeted households, the CWD shall budget deductible expenses or payments for the child support deduction averaged over two or more months retrospectively, except medical expenses, provided that such deductions are not budgeted over more months than they are intended to cover, and the total amount deducted does not exceed the total amount of the expenses. Medical expenses shall be budgeted prospectively. The CWD shall continue to allow deductions for expenses incurred or payments made for the child support deduction even if billed on other than a monthly basis unless the household reports a change in the expense. At that time, it shall be recalculated.