PROPOSED RULES
(Medicaid Program)
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 12-05-117.
Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: WAC 182-519-0050 Monthly income and countable resource standards for medically needy (MN) and 388-519-0100 Eligibility for the medically needy program.
Hearing Location(s): Health Care Authority, Cherry Street Plaza Building, Conference Room, 626 8th Avenue, Olympia, WA 98504 (metered public parking is available street side around building. A map is available at http://maa.dshs.wa.gov/pdf/CherryStreetDirectionsNMap.pdf or directions can be obtained by calling (360) 725-1000), on July 25, 2012, at 10:00 a.m.
Date of Intended Adoption: Not sooner than July 26, 2012.
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 July 25, 2012.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Kelly Richters by July 17, 2012, 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The web link cited in WAC 182-519-0050 which connects the reader to the medically needy income level (MNIL) standards is obsolete. The agency plans to replace the web link with a chart of the MNIL and reference to the annually-updated federal benefit rate.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: See Purpose above.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 41.05.021.
Statute Being Implemented: RCW 41.05.021.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Name of Proponent: Health care authority, governmental.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Catherine Fisher, P.O. Box 45534, Olympia, WA 98504-5534, (360) 725-1357.
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 health care authority rules unless requested by the joint administrative rules [review] committee or applied voluntarily.
June 18, 2012
Kevin M. Sullivan
Rules Coordinator
OTS-4703.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 11-23-091, filed 11/17/11,
effective 11/21/11)
WAC 182-519-0050
Monthly income and countable resource
standards for medically needy (MN).
(1) Changes to the
medically needy income level (MNIL) occur on January 1st of
each calendar year((. Current income standards can be found
at
http://www1.dshs.wa.gov/pdf/esa/manual/Standards_C_MedAsst_Chart.pdf)) when the Social Security Administration (SSA) issues
a cost-of-living adjustment for that year.
(2) Medically needy (MN) standards for persons who meet institutional status requirements are in WAC 388-513-1395. The standard for a client who lives in an alternate living facility can be found in WAC 388-513-1305.
(3) Find the resource standards for institutional programs in WAC 388-513-1350. The institutional standard chart can be found at http://www1.dshs.wa.gov/manuals/eaz/sections/LongTermCare/LTCstandardspna.shtml.
(4) Countable resource standards for the noninstitutional MN program are:
| (a) One person | $2,000 | |
| (b) A legally married couple | $3,000 | |
| (c) For each additional family member add | $50 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 467 | 592 | 667 | 742 | 858 | 975 | 1125 | 1242 | 1358 | 1483 |
[11-23-091, recodified as WAC 182-519-0050, filed 11/17/11, effective 11/21/11. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, and 74.09.500. 08-11-098, § 388-478-0070, filed 5/20/08, effective 6/20/08. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, 74.09.500, 74.09.530, and Section 1924 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396r-5). 06-06-013, § 388-478-0070, filed 2/17/06, effective 3/20/06. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, 74.09.500, and 42 U.S.C. 9902(2). 05-06-090, § 388-478-0070, filed 3/1/05, effective 4/1/05. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, 74.09.500, and 42 U.S.C. 1396r-5. 02-10-116, § 388-478-0070, filed 4/30/02, effective 5/31/02. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, 74.09.500, and Section 1924 (42 U.S.C. 1396R-5). 01-12-073, § 388-478-0070, filed 6/4/01, effective 7/5/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090, 74.04.050, 74.04.057, and 74.09.575. 00-10-095, § 388-478-0070, filed 5/2/00, effective 5/2/00; 99-11-054, § 388-478-0070, filed 5/17/99, effective 6/17/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057 and 74.08.090. 98-16-044, § 388-478-0070, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98. Formerly WAC 388-507-0710, 388-507-0720, 388-511-1115, 388-518-1820, 388-518-1830, 388-518-1840 and 388-518-1850.]
OTS-4704.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 09-08-003, filed 3/19/09,
effective 4/19/09)
WAC 388-519-0100
Eligibility for the medically needy
program.
(1) An individual who meets the following conditions
may be eligible for medically needy (MN) coverage under the
special rules in chapters 388-513 WAC and 388-515 WAC:
(a) Meets the institutional status requirements of WAC 388-513-1320;
(b) Resides in a medical institution as described in WAC 388-513-1395; or
(c) Receives waiver services under a medically needy in-home waiver (MNIW) according to WAC 388-515-1550 or a medically needy residential waiver (MNRW) according to WAC 388-515-1540.
(2) An SSI-related individual who lives in ((a
department)) an agency contracted alternate living facility
may be eligible for MN coverage under the rules described in
WAC 388-513-1305.
(3) An individual may be eligible for MN coverage under this chapter when he or she is:
(a) Not covered under subsection (1) and (2) of this section; and
(b) Eligible for categorically needy (CN) medical coverage in all other respects except that his or her CN countable income is above the CN income standard.
(4) MN coverage may be available if the individual is:
(a) A child;
(b) A pregnant woman;
(c) A refugee;
(d) An SSI-related individual including an aged, blind or disabled individual with countable income under the CN income standard, who is an ineligible spouse of an SSI recipient; or
(e) A hospice client with countable income which is above the special income level (SIL).
(5) An individual who is not eligible for CN medical and who is applying for MN coverage has the right to income deductions in addition to, or instead of, those used to arrive at CN countable income. Deductions to income are applied to each month of the base period to determine MN countable income. The following deductions are used to calculate countable income for MN:
(a) The agency disregards the difference between the MNIL described in WAC 182-519-0050 and the federal benefit rate (FBR) established by the Social Security Administration each year. The FBR is the one person Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment standard;
(b) All health insurance premiums, with the exception of medicare Part A, Part B, Part C and Part D premiums expected to be paid by the individual or family member during the base period(s);
(((b))) (c) Any allocations to a spouse or to dependents
for an SSI-related individual who is married or who has
dependent children. Rules for allocating income are described
in WAC ((388-475-0900)) 182-512-0900 through 182-512-0960;
(((c))) (d) For an SSI-related individual who is married
and lives in the same home as his or her spouse who receives
home and community based waiver services under chapter 388-515 WAC, an income deduction equal to the medically needy income
level (MNIL) minus the nonapplying spouse's income; and
(((d))) (e) A child or pregnant woman who is applying for
MN coverage is eligible for income deductions allowed under
TANF/SFA rules and not under the rules for CN programs based
on the federal poverty level. See WAC ((388-450-0210(4)))
182-109-0001(4) for exceptions to the TANF/SFA rules which
apply to medical programs and not to the cash assistance
program.
(6) The MNIL for individuals who qualify for MN coverage under subsection (1) of this section is based on rules in chapter 388-513 and 388-515 WAC.
(7) The MNIL for all other individuals is described in
WAC ((388-478-0070)) 182-519-0050. If an individual has
countable income which is at or below the MNIL, he or she is
certified as eligible for up to twelve months of MN medical
coverage.
(8) If an individual has countable income which is over
the MNIL, the countable income that exceeds the
((department's)) agency's MNIL standards is called "excess
income."
(9) When individuals have "excess income" they are not
eligible for MN coverage until they provide evidence to the
((department)) agency of medical expenses incurred by
themselves, their spouse or family members who live in the
home for whom they are financially responsible. See WAC
((388-519-0110(8))) 182-519-0110(8). An expense has been
incurred when:
(a) The individual has received the medical treatment or medical supplies, is financially liable for the medical expense but has not yet paid the bill; or
(b) The individual has paid for the expense within the
current or retroactive base period described in WAC
((388-519-0110)) 182-519-0110.
(10) Incurred medical expenses or obligations may be used to offset any portion of countable income that is over the MNIL. This is the process of meeting "spenddown."
(11) The ((department)) agency or the agency's designee
calculates the amount of an individual's spenddown by
multiplying the monthly excess income amount by the number of
months in the certification period as described in WAC
((388-519-0110)) 182-519-0110. The qualifying medical
expenses must be greater than or equal to the total calculated
spenddown amount.
(12) An individual who is considered for MN coverage
under this chapter may not spenddown excess resources to
become eligible for the MN program. Under this chapter
individuals are ineligible for MN coverage if their resources
exceed the program standard in WAC ((388-478-0070))
182-519-0050. An individual who is considered for MN coverage
under WAC 388-513-1395, ((388-505-0250)) 182-514-0250 or
((388-505-0255)) 182-514-0255 is allowed to spenddown excess
resources.
(13) There is no automatic redetermination process for MN coverage. An individual must submit an application for each eligibility period under the MN program.
(14) An individual who requests a timely administrative
hearing under WAC 388-458-0040 is not eligible for continued
benefits beyond the end of the original certification date
under the ((medically needy)) MN program.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.055, 74.04.050, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, 74.09.500, and 42 C.F.R. 435.831 (3)(e) and (f). 09-08-003, § 388-519-0100, filed 3/19/09, effective 4/19/09. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057 and 74.08.090. 98-16-044, § 388-519-0100, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98. Formerly WAC 388-503-0320, 388-518-1840, 388-519-1930 and 388-522-2230.]
The following section of the Washington Administrative
Code is decodified as follows:
| Old WAC Number | New WAC Number |
| 388-519-0100 | 182-519-0100 |