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COMAR 10.09.24.05

536

State of Maryland Medical Assistance Manual Revised July 2012

500.7 Residency In order to be eligible for the MA assistant program, a person must be a resident of Maryland. The applicant’s statement of his residential address on the signed application will be accepted as verification of State residency. No other verification of residency is necessary unless the local department has reason to question the truth of the statement. Reason to question the stated address exists when the applicant furnishes inconsistent address information or when the applicant’s address information varies from community knowledge or other information in the possession of the local department. In these instances, proof of the residential address must be provided by the applicant to meet the technical eligibility requirement of Maryland residency. A minimum duration of in- state residence is not required. Residency established on any day in the month of application for the MA program constitutes residency for the full month. A person who was a Maryland resident for only part of the period under consideration is ineligible on the basis of residency for any month in which the person was not a resident. A person is not a resident of Maryland if the person entered Maryland for a specific, time- limited purpose and does not intend to remain here permanently or indefinitely. A person who comes to Maryland temporarily seeking only a non institutional medical care (e.g., acute hospital services, labor and delivery services) is not a resident of Maryland. A visitor to the State is not a resident. A student from another state may or may not be a resident of Maryland. Among the factors to consider with regard to a student is the student’s registration with the school as an in state or out –of-state student or the state that is on record for the student’s voter registration, student aid, or driver’s license. A person may not be eligible for MA in two states at the same time. This does mean that a case may not be open in two states at the same time. When a person moves from one state to another, the person is no longer eligible in the former state, the case should be closed immediately. Adequate and timely written notice must be given before a case can be closed. The eligibility CM may not wait for the former state to process a case closure before granting MA eligibility to an otherwise eligible person. The fact that a case is still open in another state is not sufficient reason to deny or delay eligibility for an otherwise eligible case. When granting eligibility in such a case, the eligibility should still make every effort to verify that the former state is aware of the change of residency. The case should be flagged for a reasonable interval to insure that the closing is eventually verified. The CM may assist the other state by sharing case information which may expedite the eligibility determination process. NOTE: Residency is retained until abandoned. Temporary absence from the State, with intention to return to the State, does not interrupt continuity of residency. The situation of a person who routinely lives part of each year in another state must be evaluated to determine which state is the permanent residence. A person is a Maryland resident if throughout an annual absence from Maryland the person declares their intention to remain a resident of Maryland and has not been certified for MA in another state. The anticipated dates of