PERMANENT RULES
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Economic Services Administration)
Effective Date of Rule: July 1, 2008.
Purpose: The department is amending WAC 388-455-0005 How lump sum payments affect benefits, 388-455-0010 How the department treats lump sum payments as a resource for cash assistance and TANF/SFA-related medical assistance, and 388-455-0015 How the department treats lump sum payments as income for cash assistance and TANF/SFA-related medical assistance.
These rules are being amended to correct a reference to another department rule and revise the text to make the rules more readily understood.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-455-0005, 388-455-0010, and 388-455-0015.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, and 74.08.090.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 08-08-117 on April 2, 2008, and WSR 07-22-037 on October 30, 2007.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 3, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 3, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: May 19, 2008.
Stephanie E. Schiller
Rules Coordinator
3920.3 (2) For cash assistance and ((TANF/SFA-related)) family
medical ((assistance)) programs, we count a lump sum payment:
(a) ((The department counts payments)) As a resource,
under WAC 388-455-0010, if it was awarded for wrongful death,
personal injury, damage, or loss of property ((as resources as
described in WAC 388-455-0010)).
(b) ((We count all other lump sum payments as income as
described in WAC 388-455-0015)) As income, under WAC 388-455-0015, if it was received for any other reason.
(3) ((For food assistance, all lump sum payments are
counted as resources as described in WAC 388-470-0055)) For
Basic Food, we count lump sum payments for a previous period
as a resource under WAC 388-470-0055. We count any amount for
current or future months as income to your assistance unit.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090 and 74.04.510. 99-24-008, § 388-455-0005, filed 11/19/99, effective 1/1/00.]
(1) ((In the month the payment is received, the
department does not count any amount of a lump sum payment))
If you receive a lump sum payment, we count it as a resource
if it was awarded for:
(a) Wrongful death;
(b) Personal injury;
(c) Damage; or
(d) Loss of property.
(2) ((In the month following the month of receipt, we
count the entire amount as a resource except for the portion
of the payment designated for:
(a) Repair or replacement of damaged or lost property; or
(b) Medical bills)) If some of your lump sum payment is designated for medical bills or to repair or replace damaged property, we do not count the designated amount as a resource for sixty days starting the month after you received the payment. After the sixty day period, we count all of the lump sum payment that remains as a resource.
(3) ((We do not count the portion described in subsection
(2) of this section for sixty days following the month the
payment is received. At the end of the sixty-day period, we
count any amount that remains as a resource)) For family
medical programs, we do not count an increase in your
resources if you are continuously eligible as described under
WAC 388-470-0026 (1) and (2).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090 and 74.04.510. 99-24-008, § 388-455-0010, filed 11/19/99, effective 1/1/00.]
(1) ((To identify what portion of the lump sum the
department will count as income, we take the following steps:
(a) First, we subtract the value of your existing resources from the resource limit as described in WAC 388-470-0005;
(b) Then, we subtract the difference in (1)(a) from the total amount of the lump sum; and
(c) The amount left over is the countable amount of the lump sum)) If you receive a lump sum payment that is not awarded for wrongful death, personal injury, damage, or loss of property, we count this payment as income to your assistance unit. We budget this income according to effective date rules under WAC 388-418-0020.
(2) For cash assistance, ((the amount of the lump sum
that is countable may change if any or all of the lump sum
becomes unavailable for reasons beyond your control. See WAC 388-450-0005. When the countable amount of the lump sum is:
(a) Less than your payment standard plus additional requirements, we consider it as income in the month it is received.
(b) More than one month's payment standard plus additional requirements but less than two months:
(i) We consider the portion equal to one month's payment standard plus additional requirements as income in the month it is received; and
(ii) We consider the remainder as income the following month.
(c) Equal to or greater than the total of the payment standard plus additional requirements for the month of receipt and the following month, we consider the payment as income for those months)) if you cannot access some or all of your lump sum payment for reasons beyond your control, we will adjust the amount we count as income to your assistance unit as described under WAC 388-450-0005.
(3) ((If you are ineligible or disqualified from
receiving cash benefits and you receive a one-time lump sum
payment)) To decide the amount of your lump sum we count as
income, we take the following steps:
(a) ((We allocate the payment to meet your needs as
specified in WAC 388-450-0105)) First, we subtract the value
of your current resources from the resource limit under WAC 388-470-0005; ((and))
(b) ((The remainder is treated as a lump sum payment
available to the eligible assistance unit members according to
the rules of this section)) Then, we subtract the difference
in (3)(a) from the total amount of the lump sum; and
(c) The amount left over is what we count as income, as specified in WAC 388-450-0025 and 388-450-0030.
(4) ((You can avoid having the lump sum budgeted against
your benefits if you request termination of your cash
assistance the month before you receive the lump sum)) When
the countable amount of the lump sum payment is:
(a) Less than your payment standard plus additional requirements, we count it as income in the month it is received.
(b) More than one month's payment standard plus additional requirements but less than two months:
(i) We count the portion equal to one month's payment standard plus additional requirements as income in the month it is received; and
(ii) We count the remainder as income the following month.
(c) Equal to or greater than the total of the payment standard plus additional requirements for the month of receipt and the following month, we count the payment as income for those months.
(5) If you receive a one-time lump sum payment, and you are ineligible or disqualified from receiving cash benefits:
(a) We allocate the payment to meet your needs as described under WAC 388-450-0105; and
(b) Count the remainder as a lump sum payment available to eligible members of your assistance unit according to the rules of this section.
(((5))) (6) For ((TANF/SFA-related)) family medical
((assistance)) programs:
(a) We ((consider)) count lump sum payments as income in
the month ((of receipt)) you receive the payment.
(b) If you cannot access some or all of your lump sum payment for reasons beyond your control, will adjust the amount we count as income to your assistance unit as described under WAC 388-450-0005.
(c) We ((consider)) count any money that remains on the
first of the next month as a resource except for recipients as
described in WAC 388-470-0026 (1) and (2).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090 and 74.04.510. 99-24-008, § 388-455-0015, filed 11/19/99, effective 1/1/00.]