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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 24

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 22 Chapter 24 Long Term Care

24.7.3.A Income Disregards and Deductions Only the items in the following sections may be deducted from the client's gross income in the post-eligibility process. 24.7.3.A.1 Client’s Personal Needs Allowance (PNA) This amount is subtracted from income to cover the cost of clothing and other personal needs of the nursing facility resident. For most residents, the monthly amount deducted is $50. However, for an individual who is receiving the reduced Veterans Affairs (VA) pension of $90, the monthly PNA is $90. Similarly, an individual receiving SSI will have his monthly allocation reduced to $30, which is his monthly PNA if he is in the facility for at least three months. 24.7.3.A.2 Community Spouse Maintenance Allowance (CSMA) When the institutionalized individual has a spouse living in the community, a portion of his income may be deducted for the support of the spouse at home. The community spouse must be included as part of the case and his living expenses taken into consideration to calculate the CSMA. To determine the CSMA, the income of the community spouse is subtracted from a Spousal Maintenance Standard (SMS) which is either: • The minimum SMS. This is 150% of the monthly FPL for 2 persons; or • The minimum SMS, increased by excess shelter/utility expenses, but not exceeding the maximum SMS. See Chapter 4, Appendix A for the minimum and maximum Spousal Maintenance Standard amounts. The remainder is the amount of the institutionalized spouse’s income which can be used to meet his community spouse’s needs. For the deduction to be applied, the determined amount must actually be paid to the community spouse. If the client contributes less than the determined amount, only the amount actually contributed to the community spouse is deducted. If he has been ordered by a court or a Hearings Officer to contribute more to his spouse, the higher amount is deducted.