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F-220 Division of Welfare and Supportive Services HOME AND COMMUNITY BASED SERVICES Medical Assistance Manual INCOME 23 Oct 01 MTL 04/23 F-220 INCOME

Income means the receipt of money in the month for which an eligibility determination is being made. All income or changes in income must be reported. All income must be evaluated for financial eligibility.

F-220.1 Ownership/Availability

F-220.1.1 Sole Ownership

All income which a payer designates as the customer’s will be considered in determining eligibility.

When a benefit or income is received for more than one person or family member, only the customer’s portion of the income is considered.

F-220.1.2 Shared Ownership

a. Deeming: Does not apply.

b. Dividing:

If it is in the applicant's best interests for financial eligibility, the case manager will divide the total income of spouses who are living separate and apart (due to institutional status of Waiver program) equally between them. Only the applicant's share of the income will be considered when determining eligibility; however, if a portion of the spouse's income is made available to the applicant, that portion is counted as income to the customer in determining eligibility.

Married persons are considered to be living separate and apart when both spouses are residing in a medical facility and when qualifying under the HCBW category.

Dividing income takes precedence over the joint bank account procedures. Income deposited in a joint bank account held by both spouses will NOT be considered as "being made available."

c. Court Orders:

If the customer has a court order designating spousal income and/or customer income trust document, a copy of the court order and/or trust must be sent to the Chief of Eligibility and Payments for a decision on whether DWSS can recognize the court order or trust.