WSR 14-05-064 PERMANENT RULES DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES (Economic Services Administration) [Filed February 18, 2014, 8:53 a.m., effective March 21, 2014] Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The department is amending 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.
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 [the] 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.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-410-0020 and 388-410-0030.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, and 74.08.090.
Other Authority: 7 C.F.R. 273.18.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 14-01-110 on December 18, 2013.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: February 12, 2014.
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:
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.
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