Page 79

MISSISSIPPI DIVISION OF MEDICAID Eligibility Policy and Procedures Manual CHAPTER 200A – Income: ABD Categories Page |79 Effective Month: July 2025 200A.07.25 WORK-RELATED UNEARNED INCOME The following work-related payments are counted as unearned income: • Certain in-kind items provided as remuneration for employment, e.g., in-kind payments of shelter to domestic employees. • Money paid to a resident of a public institution when no employer/employee relationship exists. • Tips under $20 per month. • Jury fees, i.e., fees for services, not expense money. 200A.07.26 SICK PAY AS UNEARNED INCOME Any payments on account of sickness and accident disability paid more than six full months after work stopped because of that sickness or disability are unearned income. 200A.07.27 DEATH BENEFITS A death benefit is something received as the result of another’s death. Examples include: • Proceeds of life insurance policies received due to death of the insured. • Lump sum death benefits from SSA. • RR burial benefits. • VA burial benefits. • Inheritances in cash or in kind. • Cash or in-kind gifts given by relatives, friends, or a community group to “help out” with expenses related to death. NOTE: Recurring survivor benefits such as those received under Title II, private pension programs, etc., are not death benefits. Death benefits are counted as income to the extent the total amount exceeds the expenses of the deceased person’s last illness and burial paid by the recipient of the benefit. Last illness and burial expenses include related hospital and medical expenses; funeral, burial plot and interment expenses, and other related expenses. If an expense is incurred but not paid, assume the individual will pay the expense unless there is reason to question the situation. No follow-up is required if the assumption is applied.