.253 Anticipating/Estimating Expenses

(a) Medical Expenses At certification and recertification, the CWD shall require the household to report and provide verification of all medical expenses. The household's monthly medical deduction for the certification period shall be based on the information reported and verified by the household. This information shall include any anticipated changes in the household's medical expenses that can be reasonably expected to occur during the certification period based on available information about the recipient's medical condition, public or private insurance coverage, and current verified medical expenses. During the certification period, reporting of any medical expense shall be on a voluntary basis. If the household voluntarily reports a change in medical expenses which increases the household's allotment, the CWD shall verify the change as specified in Section 63-504.421 prior to acting on the change. If the reported change decreases the household's allotment, or makes the household ineligible, the CWD shall act on the change without requiring verification. However, verification required as specified in Section 63-504.421 shall be obtained prior to the household's recertification. FOOD STAMP REGULATIONS (Continued) (b) Section 63-503.253(b)(MR) shall become inoperative and Section 63-503.253(b)(QR) shall become operative in a county on the date QR/PB becomes effective in that county, pursuant to the Director's QR/PB Declaration. Other Expenses (MR) The CWD shall calculate a nonmonthly reporting household's expenses based on the expenses the household expects to be billed for or based on the payments expected to be made for the child support deduction during the certification period. Anticipation of the expenses or payments for the child support deduction shall be based on the most recent month's bills or payments for the child support deduction, unless the household is reasonably certain a change will occur. When the household is not claiming the standard utility allowance, the CWD may anticipate changes during the certification period based on last year's bills from the same period updated by overall price increases; or, if only the most recent bill is available, utility cost increases or decreases over the months of the certification period may be based on utility company estimates for the type of dwelling and utilities used by the household. The CWD shall not average past expenses, such as utility bills for the last several months, as a method of anticipating utility costs for the certification period. (QR) The CWD shall calculate a change reporting household's expenses based on the expenses the household expects to be billed for during the certification period. Anticipation of the expenses shall be based on the most recent month's bills, unless the household is reasonably certain a change will occur. Page 281.1 FOOD STAMP REGULATIONS Regulations ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS 63-503 (Cont.) (Continued) (c) Section 63-503.253(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) Expenses In the Beginning Months For households which are subject to retrospective budgeting, the procedures in Section 63-503.212(c)(1) which explain how to estimate income in the beginning months shall be used to estimate expenses in the beginning months. The CWD shall budget expenses regularly billed as a single monthly payment for the months such expenses are intended to cover.