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Sponsor A person or organization who has signed an affidavit of support or other statement of agreement to support an alien as a condition of the alien's entry into the United States. Spouse A legally recognized husband or wife through civil or common-law marriage. Standard Utility Allowance A type of FS income deduction available to units that incur expenses for heating and/or cooling. The allowance covers heating, cooling, electricity, water, sewage, garbage, and phone expenses. Stepparent An individual who is not the child's natural or adoptive parent, but who is the spouse of the child's natural or adoptive parent by ceremony or common-law marriage. Standards of Promptness The time standards within which the Department must take a required case action. Salazar Court Order A court order that governs the District of Columbia processing of Medicaid applications filed on behalf of groups who are neither categorically eligible nor applying based on disability. Sanctions Actions taken against applicants/recipients who fail to comply with program requirements and do not have a good cause reason for failing to comply. Social Service Representative (SSR) A caseworker responsible for determinations of eligibility for Medical Assistance, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, General Assistance to Children, and Food Stamps. Special Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLIMB) A beneficiary whose income is at least 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) but less than 150 percent of the FPL and whose resources do not exceed twice the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) resource standard. Benefits for SLIMBs are limited to payment of the Medicare Part B premium only. SLIMBs are eligible for the three-month retroactive eligibility determination. However, eligibility cannot be effective prior to January 1, 1993. There are no spend-down provisions for SLIMBs. (Note that effective July 1, 2005, SLIMB eligibility applies only to the month of application and the three months prior to the month of application, since the QMB income limit has been increased to include these customers for the period beginning with the month following the month of application.) Spend-down Budget Period The period of consecutive months over which total countable income and allowable medical expenses are reviewed to determine whether a group that is over-income for MA has incurred sufficient medical expenses to qualify for MA for part or all of either a three-month retroactive period or a six-month prospective period. Those timeframes are measured from the month of application. Spend-down Liability The amount of income in excess of MNIL. This represents the level of medical expenses the group must incur in order to establish eligibility for Medical Assistance. Sponsor A person or organization who has signed an affidavit of support or other statement of agreement to support an alien as a condition of the alien's entry into the United States.