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Page | 204 B. Medical Expenses For medical expenses, when the household has submitted a bill for reimbursement, the expense is considered deductible in the month in which the reimbursement is determined or otherwise verified rather than when the bill is first received.

10530 AVERAGING EXPENSES

Expenses may be averaged if: A. The household elects to have fluctuating expenses averaged, or B. The household elects to have expenses, which are billed less often than monthly, averaged forward over the interval between scheduled billings.  If there is no scheduled interval, the expense would be averaged over the period of time it was intended to cover.  Households may elect to have one-time only expenses reported at renewal, deducted in a lump-sum or averaged over the renewal period.

Child Support Payments Households will have child support payments averaged over the last 3 to 6 months if the payer has not had a stable history of payments. If the household anticipates a change in legal obligation or paid amount, or if the agency is aware of a change, the change will be budgeted. New averages must be obtained at each 6 month report or renewal.

Medical Expenses Households reporting one-time only medical expenses during the renewal period may elect a one- time deduction or may elect to have the expense averaged over the remaining months of their renewal period. Averaging would begin the month the change becomes effective.

10540 CONVERSION OF DEDUCTIONS

The appropriate conversion factor applies to expenses billed on a weekly, biweekly, or twice per month basis. If the expense is billed: A. Once a week, then multiply by 4.3. B. Once every two weeks, then multiply by 2.15. C. Twice a month, then multiply by 2.

10550 DISALLOWED EXPENSES

Expenses paid by a reimbursement are excluded. Reimbursements made under the Employment and Training (E&T) Program, or an excluded vendor payment, are not deductible.

Example 1: Mr. B. was billed real estate taxes of $150 on August 4th. He applied for SNAP on September 1st and elected to have his expenses averaged. Since the taxes covered a period of 12 months, 1/12th of $150 would be allowed for each month certified.

Example 2: Mr. B. was billed real estate taxes of $150 on March 10th and applied for SNAP on March 12th and was certified for March. If he elects not to average expenses, the total expenses for the taxes could be allowed in March.