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Chapter 3 - Determining Asset Eligibility

INTRODUCTION 3.1

At application, use the assets available on the date of application, unless the applicant's assets change before application disposition. Assets are available if an individual has both legal authority and actual ability to use them for self-support. When an individual owns an asset in whole or in part, presume the asset is wholly available unless the individual proves it is not (see Chapter 1: Determining Countable Assets in this Part). If excess assets exist at application, deny the application.

In on-going cases, use the assets the group expects to have in the payment month. The case should be closed for the month of ineligibility.

To be eligible for MA under some eligibility categories, groups must have countable assets below a specified level. Some categories do not, however, impose an asset test. Specifically, children and pregnant women who meet the non-financial and income-eligibility criteria under 'Poverty Level Families and Children' within the AR program type and children, parents, and caretaker relatives eligible under the categories within the AX program type do not have to meet an asset test (see Section 2.2.2: ACEDS MA Program Types in Part I). Also, FS and MA groups which are categorically eligible do not have to meet an asset test (see Chapter 12: Categorical Eligibility in Part IV).

This chapter relates only to the treatment of assets for programs or eligibility groups within programs that impose an asset test on applicants and recipients. Thus, in this chapter when the term 'ALL' is used to indicate the programs to which a particular policy apply, the term only includes those programs and eligibility categories within programs that apply an asset test. Similarly, in this chapter, the term 'MA' only includes those eligibility categories within Medicaid and D.C. Medical Charities that impose an asset test. For clarity, when MA is broken into subgroups in this chapter, a notation will be made to indicate that the asset-related discussion does not apply to certain categories.

LEGAL AUTHORITY 3.2 AREA/TOPIC DISTRICT FEDERAL Determining Asset Eligibility D.C. Code 3-205.10-11; 3- 217.5 GC: See TANF and D.C. Code 3-205.5a. MA: 42 USC 1396a(l), 1396a(r)(2); 1396u-1; 42 CFR 435.601, 435.840-.845 TANF: 45 CFR 265.10 FS: 7 USC 2014(a),(g),(j);7 CFR 273.8

ASSET LIMITS 3.3 ALL A group is ineligible when the total value of its countable assets exceeds the asset limit for the pertinent program. Exhibit VI-1: Asset Limits shows the asset limits for each program by ACEDS program type and group. DETERMINING ASSET ELIGIBILITY/ASSET BUDGETING 3.4 MA Groups which are categorically eligible do not have to meet the asset limits listed in Exhibit VI-1: Asset Limits. A group is categorically eligible if all eligible MA group members receive or are authorized to receive TANF, GC, and/or SSI benefits (see Section 12.3: Who is Categorically Eligible in Part IV).