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MISSISSIPPI DIVISION OF MEDICAID Eligibility Policy and Procedures Manual CHAPTER 200A – Income: ABD Categories Page |62 Effective Month: July 2025 200A.07.09I VA CAREGIVER PAYMENTS VA provides family caregivers a monthly stipend payment to provide personal care to eligible veterans who have serious post-9/11 injuries and elect to receive their care in a home setting. To be eligible for the VA caregivers’ program, the veteran must have: • Been medically discharged from service. • A serious injury that was aggravated in the line of duty on or after 9/11/2001. • Need of personal care because of the inability to perform one or more activities of daily living. • Been enrolled in VA health services. Eligible caregivers include a parent, spouse, child, a stepfamily member, an extended family member or someone who lives with the veteran but is not a member of the family of the veteran. VA caregiver payments are unearned income to which the $50/$20 general exclusion applies. The monthly stipend is compensation to the caregiver for providing personal are services to the eligible veteran. 200A.07.09J VA BENEFIT ALLOCATED TO A SPOUSE RECEIVING IBON When the spouse of an applicant or recipient receives Income Based on Need (IBON), the source of the IBON may count a portion of the VA benefit as income to the spouse receiving the IBON. When this occurs, a deduction will be made from the VA benefit of the Medicaid client equal to the amount counted as income by the IBON source. Verify from the source of the IBON (not VA) the amount of the VA benefit counted as income to the spouse. This amount will be deducted from the countable VA benefit verified by VA. Example: An applicant receives a VA pension, and his spouse receives SSI. SSI verifies $50 of the VA pension is the spouse’s income in the SSI computation; therefore, $50 is deducted from the client’s verified VA pension.