1103 Eligibility Determinations

A. The department shall rely on the findings from an Express Lane agency to satisfy one or more of the eligibility components (regardless of any differences in the income budget unit, disregards, deeming of income or other methodologies) required to make an eligibility determination.

1. An Express Lane agency is a public agency that is determined by the department to be capable of making the determinations of one or more of the eligibility requirements defined in the Medicaid State Plan. Express Lane agencies are need-based programs/agencies.

B. The department shall utilize eligibility findings from express lane agencies that administer the:

1. Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/SNAP, also known as the Food Stamp Program);

2. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families;

3. state program funded under title IV-D (child support enforcement services/SES); and

4. Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990.

C. Verification requirements for citizenship or nationality status are applicable to Express Lane eligibility determinations.

D. If a finding from an Express Lane agency results in a determination that a child does not satisfy an eligibility requirement for Medicaid or CHIP, the department shall determine eligibility for assistance using its regular procedures.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 36:254 and Title XIX of the Social Security Act.

HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Health and Hospitals, Bureau of Health Services Financing, LR 36:1555 (July 2010), amended by the Department of Health, Bureau of Health Services Financing, LR 43:2534 (December 2017).