Safety Net Provision

In certain situations, a person’s income may be greater than his or her income standard for MA-FCA and be less than the MinnesotaCare income standard due to differences in how income is calculated for each program. This results in ineligibility for both programs. This may occur when:

A lump sum is counted in the month received under the MA-FCA income methodology, but counted as part of annual income using the MinnesotaCare income methodology.

Sponsor income is counted in the household income using the MA-FCA income methodology, but not counted in the MinnesotaCare income methodology.

A child younger than age of 19 has income greater than the MA-FCA income limit, but has projected annual income (PAI) less than 100% FPG for MinnesotaCare eligibility. This can happen because MA-FCA and MinnesotaCare have different household composition and family size policies.

Current income is used in the MA-FCA income methodology, but PAI is used for the MinnesotaCare income methodology.

When these situations arise, people are eligible for MA if their PAI is below 100% FPG using the MinnesotaCare income methodology and household composition rules . People whose PAI is equal to or greater than 100% FPG, but equal to or less than 133% FPG using the MinnesotaCare income methodology and household composition rules are eligible for MinnesotaCare.

A person determined eligible for MA under the safety net provision has PAI for the current calendar year below 100% FPG. When a new year begins, they may have a new PAI amount, and may or may not continue to qualify for MA under the safety net provision.