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State of Maryland Medical Assistance Manual Revised April 2014

separated from the resources of the institutionalized spouse) if they have been attributed to him/her in determining eligibility for the institutionalized spouse. Once eligibility has been determined, the institutionalized spouse must indicate to the LDSS his/her intent to transfer resources to the community spouse, the transfer must take place within the “protected period” of 90 days immediately following a determination of eligibility. If it has been determined, in a specific case, that a longer period is required to complete the transfer (e.g., when a court is involved in assigning a couple’s property through support actions, etc.), additional time may be granted based on the individual case situation. The case must be flagged to make sure the transfer takes place at the earliest possible time. When an eligible institutionalized spouse has additional resources, the resources will not result in ineligibility when one or both of the following conditions exist: • The new resources, combined with other resources the institutionalized spouse intends to retain, do not exceed the resource limit for one person; and/or • The institutionalized spouse intends to transfer, within the protected period, new resources to a community spouse, if the community spouse’s resources: o Were below the minimum spousal share at the time of the determination of the spousal share; and o Would remain below the minimum spousal share if additional resources were transferred (Schedule MA-8). If the new resources are promptly reported to the local department along with a statement of intent to transfer, a protected period of 90 days begins from the date of receipt of the resources. No protected period exists when, as of the date that the new resources are received, the community spouse already has in his/her name resources equal to or greater than the minimum spousal share. Those resources owned by the institutionalized spouse and not transferred out of his/her name will be used to determine continuing eligibility, even if they had been attributed to the community spouse during the eligibility determination. Resources held by an institutionalized spouse will not be counted in a redetermination if the resources are transferred to any party for which there is no penalty for failure to receive fair market value, or if the institutionalized spouse receives fair market value for the transferred resources within 30 days. There are three instances in which the amount of resources to be protected for a community spouse may be increased. These are: 1. If it is determined by a hearings officer that the income generated from the spousal share is inadequate to meet the community spouse’s monthly maintenance needs; 2. If either member of the couple alleges that the initial determination was incorrect and the allegation is confirmed by a hearings officer; or 3. If it is determined by the LDSS that inaccurate information was provided when the spousal share was calculated. (g) Income Evaluation