The household reports an increase in income

If the individual reports an increase in income, we need to recalculate the spenddown amount for the remaining months in the base period.

If the individual has not met spenddown and is still in pending status, the worker needs to send a new letter to the individual indicating that their spenddown liability has increased.

If the individual has already met spenddown and the MN coverage is active, the worker needs to:

Terminate the MN coverage (with advance and adequate notice),

Recalculate the new spenddown liability for the remaining months in the base period, and

Send an amended spenddown letter, showing the additional amount of spenddown liability the household needs to incur.

When calculating the additional spenddown liability amount, the individual must be given a credit for the remaining months in the base period. The example below shows how to calculate the amount of the credit. Enter the credit amount as a paid expense type 'MU' in ACES and document that this is a workaround to give the individual the benefit of the credit. When the individual reapplies for MN coverage, the credit will be applied to the individual's new spenddown.

Example

Norma receives social security disability of $720 per month. Her spenddown liability is $156 ($26 per month) based on a 6-month base period from February through July.

She met her spenddown on March 10 and is active on MN medical. On May 5, she reports that she started receiving a small pension in the amount of $115 per month. Terminate medical coverage effective the end of May.

Recalculate the spenddown liability for the months of June and July. Since Norma had already met her spenddown for a 6-month period, and she has only received coverage for a 4-month period, we need to allow her a credit towards the new increased liability based on the number of months left until the end of the original base period. In this example, her spenddown amount was $26 per month so she receives a 'credit' of $104. ($26 x 4 months). Code the $104 as a paid expense type 'MU' in ACES online, and the credit will be applied to the individual's next base period.