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C. Step Three: Determine Total Countable Reserve at Application

* Steps Three through Five are protection steps.

1. Verify reserve total of the budget unit at application.

2. Repeat tasks 2.-5. in II.A., Step One, above, verifying the total countable assets owned by the couple (and/or either spouse individually) at the first moment of each period (ongoing or retroactive) for which assistance is requested.

3. From total countable/available reserve of the couple, deduct the CSRA determined in section II.B., Step Two, above. 4. The remainder is the total amount of reserve available to the applicant and used to determine the applicant's eligibility. 5. Specific rules relating to spousal protection and burial exclusion a. Do not exclude countable burial assets or liquid assets for the burial of either spouse at assessment. b. Irrevocable burial assets are unavailable and are not included in the assessment. c. When determining reserve eligibility for the institutionalized applicant, burial exclusion applies to applicant and the spouse. D. Step Four: Determine Applicant's Reserve Eligibility 1. Remaining assets (from Step Three) are available to the applicant regardless of which spouse actually has ownership interest, or in whose name the asset is held. 2. Compare this amount to the reserve allowance for 1 ($2,000). Reference . a. If it is $2,000 or less: The a/b is reserve eligible. Proceed to II.E., Step Five, below. b. If it is over $2,000: If applicable, apply the qualified Long Term Care Partnership program resource disregard to those assets owned solely by the individual and his/her share of jointly owned assets, if applicable. c. If still over the $2000, the a/b is not eligible until his reserve is reduced to the $2,000 limit.