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Verification must show whether a third party has or will be billed, and if a third party has paid, the amount of the payment must be shown so that the caseworker can determine the individual’s out-of-pocket expense.
Medicare or other insurance reimbursement can also be verified by the Medicare Summary Notices that Medicare sends to beneficiaries and other explanation of benefit notices from insurance payers. 3440.50.00 EXPENSES NOT ALLOWED AS DEDUCTIONS (S)
An expense covered by excluded reimbursements or vendor payments shall not be deductible. This would include rent paid by exempt HUD payments (see 2835.15.05 and 2845.55.00). The portion of the rent or utility expense covered by HUD is not calculated as part of the shelter or utility deduction. (f20) The AG would only be entitled to an SUA if they are responsible for paying a portion of the applicable utility.
EXAMPLE:
The AG's rent is paid by a relative who is not an AG member. The relative pays the rent directly to the landlord. The rent payment is not counted as income to the AG nor is it allowed as a shelter expense.
Expenses are only deductible if the service is provided by someone outside of the AG and the AG owes a money payment for the service. For example, a dependent care deduction is not allowed if another AG member provides the care or if compensation for the care is provided in the form of an in-kind benefit such as food. Contributions made by non-recipient household members toward living expenses shared with the AG are exempt as income and the expense is not allowed (see Section 2870.05.00).
Also, expenses covered by in-kind earnings which are not countable (See Section 2815.05.00) are not allowed as deductions.
EXAMPLE:
The AG "works off" $200 of their $400 rent. The landlord verifies he would not give the AG the option to receive the $200 in cash. In this situation, the SNAP budget would not count the $200 as income. The $200 portion of the rent covered by the in-kind earnings is not allowed as a deduction; only $200 is allowed as a shelter cost.
An exception to this rule is expenses paid through LIHEAP (see 2835.05.00). These expenses are to be allowed as a deduction expense if the amount due is current, even though the payment is not considered as income.