WSR 15-04-101

PROPOSED RULES

HEALTH CARE AUTHORITY

(Washington Apple Health)

[Filed February 3, 2015, 7:46 a.m.]

Original Notice.

Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 14-15-110.

Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: WAC 182-512-0770 SSI-related medical—American Indian/Alaska Native excluded income and resources.

Hearing Location(s): Health Care Authority (HCA), Cherry Street Plaza Building, Kiwi Conference Room, CSP 108, 626 8th Avenue, Olympia, WA 98504 (metered public parking is available street side around building. A map is available at http://www.hca.wa.gov/documents/directions_to_csp.pdf or directions can be obtained by calling (360) 725-1000), on March 10, 2015, at 10:00 a.m.

Date of Intended Adoption: Not sooner than March 11, 2015.

Submit Written Comments to: HCA Rules Coordinator, P.O. Box 45504, Olympia, WA 98504-5504, delivery 626 8th Avenue, Olympia, WA 98504, e-mail arc@hca.wa.gov, fax (360) 586-9727, by 5:00 p.m. on March 10, 2015.

Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Kelly Richters by March 2, 2015, TTY (800) 848-5429 or (360) 725-1307 or e-mail kelly.richters@hca.wa.gov.

Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: The agency is revising the list of income and resource exclusions referenced in this section.

Reasons Supporting Proposal: To bring the rule into compliance with federal law.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 41.05.021, 41.05.160.

Statute Being Implemented: RCW 41.05.021, 41.05.160; 42 C.F.R. § 431, 435, and 457, and 45 C.F.R. § 155; 42 U.S.C. Chapter 157.

Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.

Name of Proponent: HCA, governmental.

Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Chantelle Diaz, P.O. Box 42716, Olympia, WA 98504-2716, (360) 725-1842; Implementation and Enforcement: Mick Pettersen, P.O. Box 42710, Olympia, WA 98504-5534, (360) 725-0913.

No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. The joint administrative [rules] review committee has not requested the filing of a small business economic impact statement, and these rules do not impose a disproportionate cost impact on small businesses.

A cost-benefit analysis is not required under RCW 34.05.328. RCW 34.05.328 does not apply to HCA rules unless requested by the joint administrative rules review committee or applied voluntarily.

February 2, 2015

Jason R. P. Crabbe

Rules Coordinator

AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 14-07-059, filed 3/14/14, effective 4/14/14)

WAC 182-512-0770 SSI-related medical—American Indian((/)) or Alaska Native excluded income and resources.

(1) The agency excludes the following types of income from being considered when determining eligibility for Washington apple health (WAH) categorically needy (CN) and medically needy (MN) SSI-related programs for American Indians((/)) or Alaska Natives:

(a) ((Distributions received by an individual Alaska Native or descendant of an Alaska Native from an Alaska Native Regional and Village Corporation pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, P.L. 92-203 and 100-241, as follows:

(i) Cash, including cash dividends on stock received from a Native Corporation, to the extent that it does not, in the aggregate, exceed two thousand dollars per person each calendar year;

(ii) Stock, including stock issued or distributed by a Native Corporation as a dividend or distribution on stock;

(iii) A partnership interest;

(iv) Land or an interest in land, including land or an interest in land received from a Native Corporation as a dividend or distribution on stock; and

(v) An interest in a settlement trust.

(b) Income received from Indian trust funds or lands held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior for an Indian tribe or individual tribal member, P.L. 98-64, including any interest and investment income accrued while such funds are held in trust;

(c) Income received from Indian judgment funds held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior or distributed per capita under P.L. 93-134 as amended by P.L. 97-458, including any interest and investment income accrued while such funds are held in trust;

(d) Up to two thousand dollars per person per calendar year received from individual interests in trust or restricted lands under section 13736 of P.L. 103-66; and

(e) Income received by members of specific Indian tribes and groups that is excluded by federal law (as more fully listed in Appendix to Subpart K of Title 20, Part 416 of the Code of Federal Regulations) including, but not limited to, the following:

(i) Payments from an annuity fund established by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Settlement Act of 1989, P.L. 101-41, made to a Puyallup tribe member upon reaching twenty-one years of age;

(ii) Payments from the trust fund established by P.L. 101-41 made to a Puyallup tribe member;

(iii) Payments under the White Earth Reservation Land Settlement Act of 1985, P.L. 99-264, Section 16;

(iv) Payments made from submarginal land held in trust for certain Indian tribes as designated by P.L. 94-114; and

(v) Payments under the Senecal Nation Settlement Act, P.L. 101-503.)) Distributions from Alaska Native corporations and settlement trusts;

(b) Distributions from any property held in trust, subject to federal restrictions, located within the most recent boundaries of a prior federal reservation, or otherwise under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior;

(c) Distributions and payments from rents, leases, rights of way, royalties, usage rights, or natural resource extraction and harvest from:

(i) Rights of ownership or possession in any lands described in (b) of this subsection; or

(ii) Federally protected rights regarding off-reservation hunting, fishing, gathering, or usage of natural resources.

(d) Distributions resulting from real property ownership interests related to natural resources and improvements that are:

(i) Located on or near a reservation or within the most recent boundaries of a prior federal reservation; or

(ii) Resulting from the exercise of federally protected rights relating to such real property ownership interests.

(e) Payments resulting from:

(i) Ownership interests in or usage rights to items that have unique religious, spiritual, traditional, or cultural significance; or

(ii) Rights that support subsistence or a traditional lifestyle according to applicable tribal law or custom.

(f) Student financial assistance provided under the Bureau of Indian Affairs education programs; and

(g) Any other applicable income exclusion as provided by federal law, regulation, or rule.

(2) The agency excludes the following types of resources from being considered when determining eligibility for WAH-CN and WAH-MN SSI-related programs for American Indians((/)) or Alaska Natives:

(a) Property, including real property and improvements, that is:

(i) Held in trust, subject to federal restrictions, or otherwise under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior; and

(ii) Located on a reservation, including any federally recognized Indian tribe's reservation, pueblo, or colony, including:

(A) Former reservations in Oklahoma((,));

(B) Alaska Native regions established by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act; and

(C) Indian allotments on or near a reservation as designated and approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior((;)).

(b) ((For any federally recognized tribe not described in (a) of this subsection,)) Property located within the most recent boundaries of a prior federal reservation for any federally recognized tribe not described in (a) of this subsection;

(c) Ownership interests in rents, leases, royalties, or usage rights related to natural resources (including, but not limited to, extraction of natural resources or harvesting of timber, other plants and plant products, animals, fish and shellfish) resulting from the exercise of federally protected rights; and

(d) Ownership interests in or usage rights to items not covered in (a), (b), or (c) of this subsection that have unique religious, spiritual, traditional, or cultural significance or rights that support subsistence or a traditional lifestyle according to applicable tribal law or custom.

(3) When determining eligibility for WAH-CN and WAH-MN SSI-related programs for American Indians((/)) or Alaska Natives, the agency counts ((of excluded)) or excludes amounts received by tribal members from exercise of gaming revenues (per capita distributions) that are retained after the month of receipt based on the type of resource in which the money is retained. If the amounts are retained in a countable resource (for example, cash, checking account, or savings account), the agency treats the amounts as a countable resource. If the amounts are converted to an excluded resource (for example, personal property like a refrigerator), the agency treats the amounts as excluded resources.