Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.

     Purpose: DSHS aging and disability services administration is amending chapters 388-513 and 388-515 WAC in order to:

•	Combine categorically needy (CN) and medically needy (MN) home and community based waiver eligibility.
•	Update excess home equity standards and add formula for the increase based on federal standards for January 2011, and ongoing and updating the federal utility standard used in spousal deeming.
•	Clarifying reasonable limits for qualifying medical deductions.
•	Update links and references based on HB [2E2SHB] 1738 and health care authority (HCA) medicaid WACs recodified under TITLE 182 WAC.
•	Update references of the former general assistance program to aged, blind, disabled (ABD) cash and medical care services (MCS).
•	Add language to the hardship waiver WAC to include transfers between registered domestic partners or legally married same-sex couples.
•	Updated references and adding clarifying language.
•	Adding language regarding the treatment of entrance fees of individuals residing in continuing care retirement communities.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-513-1301, 388-513-1305, 388-513-1315, 388-513-1320, 388-513-1330, 388-513-1340, 388-513-1345, 388-513-1350, 388-513-1363, 388-513-1364, 388-513-1365, 388-513-1367, 388-513-1380, 388-513-1395, 388-515-1505, 388-515-1506, 388-515-1507, 388-515-1508, 388-515-1509, 388-515-1510, 388-515-1511, 388-515-1512, 388-515-1513, 388-515-1514, 388-515-1540, and 388-515-1550.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, and 74.09.530, section 6014 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA), section 209(1), chapter 37, Laws of 2010 (ESSB 6444).

      Adopted under notice filed as WSR 12-16-023 on July 25, 2012.

     Changes Other than Editing from Proposed to Adopted Version: Changed references from TITLE 388 WAC to TITLE 182 WAC based on the recodification of WACs by the HCA. Chapter 388-519 WAC references changed to chapter 182-519 WAC, changed WAC reference [from] WAC 388-478-0075 to WAC 182-505-0100 which describes the federal poverty level (FPL) standard.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 1, Amended 26, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 1, Amended 26, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Date Adopted: October 22, 2012.

Katherine I. Vasquez

Rules Coordinator

     Reviser's note: The material contained in this filing exceeded the page-count limitations of WAC 1-21-040 for appearance in this issue of the Register. It will appear in the 12-23 issue of the Register.