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MISSISSIPPI DIVISION OF MEDICAID Eligibility Policy and Procedures Manual CHAPTER 102 – Non-Financial Requirements Page |47 Effective Date: June 2020 102.05.08 E VETERANS, ACTIVE-DUTY MILITARY AND FAMILY MEMBER REQUIREMENTS To be eligible as a veteran, the qualified alien must have been honorably discharged, not based on alienage, and must have fulfilled minimum active-duty service requirements. A qualified alien who is an active-duty member of the Armed Forces, but not on active duty for training purposes only, can also be eligible. A qualified alien who is the spouse of a veteran or active-duty service member may be eligible. The veteran’s exemption also includes the unmarried surviving spouse of a veteran or active-duty military person. To qualify as a surviving spouse, at least one of the following conditions must be met: • The spouse must have been married to the veteran for at least one year; or • The spouse must have had a child with the veteran, or • The veteran’s death must have been due to an injury or illness incurred during military service and the marriage must have been in existence sometime within 15 years after the period of service in which the injury or disease was incurred or aggravated. Loss of Exemption Surviving spouses who remarry lose the benefit of this exemption the month after the month of the remarriage. Spouses whose marriage ended in divorce lose the benefit of this exemption the month after the month of divorce. Qualifying Children To qualify as a child of a veteran or active-duty service person, the biological, adopted or stepchild must be • Unmarried and claimable as a dependent on the military person’s tax return and Under 18 years of age or under 22 and a student regularly attending school; or • A child with disabilities who is over 18, if the child had a disability and was dependent on the veteran or active-duty service member before the child’s 18th birthday; or • A surviving unmarried minor child of a veterans or person killed in active duty and dependent on the veteran at the time of the veteran’s death.