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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 2

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 18 Chapter 2 Common Eligibility Requirements

2.7.1.C Medicaid Enumeration is the procedure by which the Social Security Administration (SSA) assigns and verifies Social Security Numbers. Each individual seeking Medicaid must furnish each of his or her Social Security numbers.

The SSN must be provided and entered into the eligibility system to satisfy the enumeration requirement. Once the SSN is obtained and verified as required in Chapter 7, the client must not be required to provide or verify it again unless the identity of the individual or the validity of the number is questionable.

If an applicant cannot recall his or her SSN or has not been issued an SSN, the agency must: • Assist the applicant in completing an application for an SSN; • Obtain evidence required under SSA regulations to establish the age, citizenship or alien status and identity of the applicant; and • Either send the application to SSA or if the applicant has previously been issued an SSN, request SSA to furnish the number.

The enumeration requirement does not apply to an individual who:

• Is not eligible to receive an SSN; or • Does not have an SSN and may only be issued an SSN for a valid non-work reason; or • Refuses to obtain an SSN because of well-established religious objection. Must be a member of a recognized religious sect or division of the sect and adhere to the tenets or teachings of the sect or division of the sect and for that reason is conscientiously opposed to applying for or using a national identification number.

Sources of verification include:

• Social security card, • Correspondence which indicates that the application for an SSN is complete, • Form SSA-2853, which is a receipt that serves as proof parents have elected to have an SSN assigned to the newborn through the Enumeration process at birth; or • State On-Line Query (SOLQ) • SSNs are verified by the Social Security Administration via the Data Exchange process each night. The verification is automatically entered in the eligibility system when verified. The eligibility system sends a daily alert to the Worker showing invalid SSNs. • For Medicaid and WVCHIP only: SSNs may be verified via the Federal Data Hub (FDH) in real time.

Medicaid applications may not be delayed or denied while the eligible individual verifies his SSN. An individual is given 90 days to provide verification of his/her SSN if it is not provided at application.