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While Wisconsin does not offer residents a state-specific ABLE program, Wisconsin residents may open these accounts in any state where an ABLE program is offered. If an applicant or member has an ABLE account, treat the money in the account as follows: 1. Do not count the balance on the account as an asset. 2. Do not count contributions to the account from someone other than the member, any interest or dividends earned, or other appreciation in value as income. Note The fact that someone uses their earned or unearned income to contribute to an ABLE account does not make the income exempt for purposes of Medicaid eligibility. Income received by the designated beneficiary and deposited into their ABLE account is still income to the designated beneficiary. For example, an applicant can have contributions automatically deducted from their paycheck and deposited into an ABLE account. In this case, the income used to make the ABLE account contribution is included in the Medicaid eligibility determination as income, even though the ABLE account is an exempt asset. 3. Exempt all distributions from these accounts to the beneficiary, as long as they are for qualified disability expenses and are not more than the beneficiary's qualified disability expenses. “Qualified disability expenses” means any expenses related to the eligible person’s blindness or disability that are incurred for the benefit of an eligible person who is the designated beneficiary. This includes the following expenses: education, housing, transportation, employment training and support, assistive technology and personal support services, health, prevention and wellness, financial management and administrative services, legal fees, expenses for oversight and monitoring, funeral and burial expenses, and other expenses consistent with the purposes of the ABLE program. Unless the applicant or member reports that a distribution was used for non-qualifying expenses, it should be assumed that the distribution was used for qualified disability expenses. 4. Disregard ABLE account distributions used for qualified disability expenses from a person’s total income when calculating cost of care for long-term care and home and community-based waivers. ABLE account funds remaining after an applicant’s or member’s death are subject to estate recovery. Note If a third party contributes to someone else’s ABLE account, and then later applies for long-term care Medicaid, the contributed funds may be considered divestment. 16.7.31 Crowdfunding Accounts Crowdfunding accounts, such as GoFundMe and Kickstarter, raise money from multiple people online to finance things like a new business venture, medical bills, or funeral costs. If the funds in these accounts are not accessible for the person to withdraw, the funds would be an unavailable asset. Disbursements or withdrawals would be unearned income (a gift) in the month withdrawn, and any withdrawn amount that is still available in subsequent months would be an available asset. 16.7.32 Independence Accounts Independence account balances will be exempt assets for all Medicaid programs. Any “pre- Independence account balance” will be a counted asset. Only funds deposited in a registered Independence Account while the member is eligible for MAPP may be exempted from the asset limit. Any deposits made prior to MAPP enrollment or during periods of MAPP ineligibility are not exempt assets. Note that there are different rules for retirement/pension accounts and non-retirement/pension accounts regarding how they may be registered as Independence Accounts and when funds may be deposited. See SECTION 26.4.1.1 INDEPENDENCE ACCOUNTS for more information on these accounts.