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MISSISSIPPI DIVISION OF MEDICAID HOME & COMMUNITY BASED SERVICES WAIVER INCOME TRUST – HELP SHEET HCBS Income Trust Help Sheet, Revised June 2020 Page 1

The purpose of an Income Trust is to allow an individual with recurring excess monthly income who has exhausted all available resources to become eligible for Medicaid while participating in a Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waiver program. Certain conditions apply which are outlined below. The federal authority for an Income Trust is found in Section 1917 (d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. §1396 p (d) (4)). Basic Income Trust Rules: 1. An HCBS Income Trust is available for someone receiving an institutional level of care while living in a private living arrangement that meets the requirements of home and community based settings. The HCBS Income Trust is not permitted unless the individual is enrolled and participating in a HCBS waiver program.

2. An individual requiring an Income Trust who has a court appointed conservator must furnish a copy of the Chancery Court Order authorizing the conservator to establish the Income Trust. The court must be made aware of the Income Trust requirement to pay the MS Division of Medicaid any accumulated trust funds up to an amount expended by Medicaid under the terms of the Income Trust. Income Trust Requirements – Please read carefully: 3. Income that funds the Income Trust is all income due the individual from all sources such as Social Security, pension benefits, interest income and any/all other types and sources of income. The individual’s right to receive income should not be transferred to the Income Trust; instead, the individual must first receive the income and then place it into the HCBS Income Trust.

4. The HCBS Income Trust must specify the effective date of the trust. The effective date is the date the individual is determined eligible for Medicaid on all factors, including the date a waiver slot is available and HCBS services have been approved. Consultation with the Medicaid Regional Office is needed prior to the execution of the trust to confirm the effective date needed. Medicaid eligibility can begin in a month later than the stated effective date of an Income Trust but Medicaid eligibility cannot begin in any month prior to the stated effective date of an Income Trust. An executed Income Trust without an effective date will begin on the date the trust is signed and dated if the individual is otherwise eligible.

5. Funding of the Income Trust begins in the month the Income Trust is effective or the beginning date of Medicaid eligibility, whichever is later.

6. The HCBS Income Trust must distribute to the individual, or for his/her benefit, an amount equal to not more than $1 less than the then current Medicaid institutional income limit. The Income Trust will not specify the amount of the individual’s income to be released as this amount may change each year since the Medicaid institutional income limit is subject to change each year. The Trustee will be notified in writing of the amount of income that must fund the HCBS Income Trust each month in order to meet the terms of the Income Trust.