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If the individual applies while residing in the LTC facility, the SSR should consider all the resources held by either the institutionalized spouse and/or the community spouse as available to the institutionalized spouse, regardless of any District laws relating to community property or the division of marital property, and should do the following to determine the MA eligibility of the institutionalized spouse.

 Determine the couple's combined countable assets for the month of application (see SR policies unless institutionalized spouse under 21 and eligible for MA under AR in Chapter 1: Determining Countable Assets in Part VI).  Deduct from the couple's combined countable assets owned at the time of application a Protected Spousal Amount (see Section 2.9.1: Protected Spousal Amount in this Chapter).  Deduct the Protected Spousal Amount from assets held in the name of the institutionalized spouse from the time of the initial eligibility determination until the first regularly scheduled recertification.  Compare the remaining asset amount to the SR resource standard for one person (unless institutionalized spouse under 21 and eligible for MA under AR) (see Section 3.3: Asset Limits in Part VI).

If the remaining assets are equal to or below the appropriate standard, the institutionalized spouse is eligible for MA. If the remaining asset amount is above the standard, the institutionalized spouse is not eligible for MA.

Do not deny MA eligibility to an institutionalized spouse who has resources in excess of the SR resource standard when one or more of the following circumstances exists:

 the institutionalized spouse has assigned to the District any rights to support from the community spouse,  support rights cannot be assigned to the District because the institutionalized spouse has physical or mental impairments of a degree which under D.C. law prohibits him/her from legally assigning rights but the District has rights under D.C. law to bring support proceedings against the community spouse without such an assignment, or  an impartial review has determined that a denial of eligibility creates undue hardship.

When changes in the amount of resources of the institutionalized spouse occur after initial eligibility for MA is established, recalculate the asset eligibility of the institutionalized spouse unless:

 the new assets combined with the other assets the institutionalized spouse intends to retain do not exceed the asset limit for one person, or  the institutionalized spouse intends to transfer the new assets to the community spouse who has assets below the Spousal Share allowance (see Section 2.9.2: Spousal Share and Section 2.13: Transfer of Assets Before or After MA Eligibility Determination in this Chapter).

Assets owned by the community spouse are not deemed available to the institutionalized spouse after the initial eligibility determination (see Section 2.12: Treatment of Assets After MA Eligibility Determination in this Chapter).