WSR 14-01-110

PROPOSED RULES

DEPARTMENT OF

SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

(Economic Services Administration)

[Filed December 18, 2013, 10:41 a.m.]

Original Notice.

Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 13-19-069.

Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: The department is proposing to amend WAC 388-410-0020 What happens if I receive more Basic Food or WASHCAP benefits than I am supposed to receive? and 388-410-0030 How does the department calculate and set up my Basic Food or WASHCAP overpayment?

Hearing Location(s): Office Building 2, Lookout Room, DSHS Headquarters, 1115 Washington, Olympia, WA 98504 (public parking at 11th and Jefferson. A map is available at http://www1.dshs.wa.gov/msa/rpau/RPAU-OB-2directions.html), on January 22, 2014, at 10:00 a.m.

Date of Intended Adoption: Not earlier than January 23, 2014.

Submit Written Comments to: DSHS Rules Coordinator, P.O. Box 45850, Olympia, WA 98504, e-mail DSHSRPAURulesCoordinator@dshs.wa.gov, fax (360) 664-6185, by 5 p.m. on January 22, 2014.

Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Jennisha Johnson, DSHS rules consultant, by January 8, 2014, TTY (360) 664-6178 or (360) 664-6094 or by e-mail jennisha.johnson@dshs.wa.gov.

Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: The department proposes to amend rules under WAC 388-410-0020 and 388-410-0030 to make changes that are consistent with federal requirements and regulations concerning establishment, collection and calculation of Basic Food benefit errors and overpayment claims.

Reasons Supporting Proposal: This rule making is part of the corrective action plan for a recent USDA Food and Nutrition Service Recipient Claim Management Evaluation Review (RCMER). The RCMER found that Washington Administrative Code (WAC) was inconsistent with federal regulations concerning the establishment of claims for supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) benefit overpayments. The department must establish overpayments for SNAP even if the department does not meet federal timeliness standards for establishing claims.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, and 74.08.090.

Statute Being Implemented: RCW 74.04.005, 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, and 74.08.090.

Rule is necessary because of federal law, 7 C.F.R. § 273.18.

Name of Proponent: Department of social and health services, governmental.

Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Robert Thibodeau, 712 Pear Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98504, (360) 725-4634.

No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. These proposed rules do not have an economic impact on small businesses. The proposed amendment only affects certain DSHS clients who receive more benefits than they are supposed to receive. The changes make state rules consistent with federal regulations.

A cost-benefit analysis is not required under RCW 34.05.328. These amendments are exempt as allowed under RCW 34.05.328 (5)(b)(vii) which states in part, "[t]his section does not apply to … rules of the department of social and health services relating only to client medical or financial eligibility and rules concerning liability for care of dependents."

December 12, 2013

Katherine I. Vasquez

Rules Coordinator

AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 06-20-062, filed 9/29/06, effective 11/1/06)

WAC 388-410-0020 What happens if I receive more Basic Food or WASHCAP benefits than I am supposed to receive?

(1) If you receive more Basic Food or WASHCAP benefits than you were supposed to receive, your assistance unit (AU) has an overpayment. There are three types of overpayments:

(a) Administrative error overpayment: When you received too many benefits because the department made a mistake.

(b) Inadvertent household error overpayment: When you received too many benefits because you made a mistake or didn't understand what you were supposed to do.

(c) Intentional program violation (IPV) overpayment: When you received too many benefits because you broke a federal food ((stamp)) assistance rule on purpose. If you have an IPV, you could be disqualified from receiving Basic Food or WASHCAP benefits under chapter 388-446 WAC.

(((2) We must discover an overpayment within certain time frames for us to establish and collect an overpayment. If we do not discover that you received too many benefits within the time frame described below based on the type of overpayment, we will not set up an overpayment:


(a) Administrative error overpayment:	(b) Inadvertent household error overpayment:	(c) Intentional program violation overpayment:
We must discover the overpayment within twelve months of the date you were overpaid.	We must discover the overpayment within twenty-four months of the date you were overpaid.	We must discover the overpayment within seventy-two months of the date you were overpaid.))

AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 06-20-062, filed 9/29/06, effective 11/1/06)

WAC 388-410-0030 How does the department calculate and set up my Basic Food or WASHCAP overpayment?

(1) We calculate the amount of your Basic Food or WASHCAP overpayment by counting the difference between:

(a) The benefits your assistance unit (AU) received; and

(b) The benefits your AU should have received.

(2) To calculate the benefits your AU should have received, we determine what we would have authorized if we:

(a) Had correct and complete information; and

(b) Followed all the necessary procedures to determine your AU's eligibility and benefits.

(3) If you did not report your earned income as required under WAC 388-418-0005 and 388-418-0007, you do not receive the earned income deduction under WAC 388-450-0185 when we calculate your overpayment amount.

(4) If we paid you too few Basic Food or WASHCAP benefits for a period of time, we will use the amount we underpaid your AU to reduce your overpayment if:

(a) We have not already issued you benefits to replace what you were underpaid; and

(b) We have not used this amount to reduce another overpayment.

(5) We must set up an inadvertent household error or administrative error overpayment if:

(a) We discovered the overpayment through the federal quality control process;

(b) You currently receive Basic Food or WASHCAP benefits; or

(c) The overpayment is over one hundred twenty-five dollars and you do not currently receive Basic Food or WASHCAP benefits.

(6) If you have an inadvertent household error that we referred for prosecution or an administrative disqualification hearing, we will not set up and start collecting the overpayment if doing so could negatively impact this process.

(7) We set up an intentional program violation overpayment based on the results of an administrative disqualification hearing (chapter 388-02 WAC) unless:

(a) Your AU has repaid the overpayment; or

(b) We have referred your inadvertent household error for prosecution and collecting the overpayment could negatively impact this process.

(8) We must calculate the overpayment amount:

(a) For an administrative error overpayment - up to twelve months prior to when we became aware of the overpayment;

(b) For an inadvertent household error overpayment - for no more than twenty-four months before we became aware of the overpayment; and

(c) For intentional program violation (IPV) overpayments - from the month the act of IPV first occurred but no more than six years before we became aware of the overpayment.