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2. Recertification
Request verification of the income received in the base period. Also ask for verification of operational expenses paid during the same period, if applicable.
3. Client Statement as Verification of Income for Applications and Recertification’s.
Only accept the applicant’s statement as verification of income if:
a. The applicant or caseworker cannot obtain the verification from any source, or the source refuses to provide verification or cannot be located, and
b. The statement is not questionable. Do not accept the statement if the applicant/beneficiary refuses or simply fails to provide the verification of income.
Example 1: The a/b provides a statement but has lost the previous month’s pay stubs. The caseworker contacts the employer who refuses under any circumstances to provide verification. Accept the statement of income unless questionable.
Example 2: The a/b provides a statement of income but does not provide pay stubs with the application. The caseworker requests proof of income. If the a/b does not return the pay stubs and does not indicate that they are unavailable, the caseworker should not approve Medicaid. This is true even if the caseworker contacts the employer and he refuses to verify income.
c. Document the reason why the applicant’s statement was accepted and that he has been instructed that for any subsequent applications or redeterminations he will be required to provide proof of his income.
E. Determination of Adjusted Gross Income
Upon receipt of the verified income and operational expenses:
1. Determine the average monthly gross income by adding together the total gross income received during the base period. Divide this by the number of months used in the base period. This is the average monthly gross income.
2. Determine the average monthly operational expenses by adding together the operational expenses paid during the base period. Divide this by the number of months used in the base period. This is the average monthly operational expenses.