Tribal Payments and Interests (Archive)

Many federal statutes provide for the exclusion from assets of certain interests held by and payments made to members of Indian tribes and groups. Some statutes address interests and payments to specific tribes while others address certain types of interests and payments. This section explains how to count these interests and payments.

Follow your agency's HealthQuest procedures for payments not listed in this section. If known, include the Public Law (P.L.) number.

Note:  For Method B, GAMC, MA-EPD and Medicare Savings Programs, any excluded student financial assistance must be identifiable. See Excluded Assets for information on determining whether assets are identifiable.

Individual Interests in Trust or Restricted Lands.

Per Capita Distributions of Funds Held in Trust.

Tribal Land Settlements or Judgments.

Tribal Gaming Revenues.

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Individual Interests in Trust or Restricted Lands

For all health care programs, exclude from assets the interests of individual Indians in trust or restricted lands (P.L. 103-66 § 13736; 25 USC § 1408).

Per Capita Distributions of Funds Held in Trust

For all health care programs, exclude per capita distributions of all funds held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior to members of an Indian tribe (P.L. 98-64).

Note:  Any local tribal funds that a tribe distributes to individuals on a per capita basis, but which have not been held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior are not excluded under this provision.

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Tribal Land Settlements or Judgments

For all health care programs, exclude from assets American Indian tribal land settlements and judgment funds that are held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior or distributed per capita pursuant to a plan prepared by the Secretary of the Interior (P.L. 93-134; P.L. 97-458). This includes, but is not limited to, the following payments:

l  Judgment funds distributed per capita under P.L. 99-377 to the Mississippi Band Chippewa Indians of White Earth, Leech Lake, and Mille Lacs reservations.

l  Distributions of claims settlement funds under P.L. 99-264, P.L. 100-153, and P.L. 100-212 to members of the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians from the White Earth Reservation Land Settlement Act of 1985 (WELSA).

l  Per capita payments made under 25 USC § 1407 to members of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Indians pursuant to the agreement to restrict tribal rights to hunt and fish in ceded territories.

l  Per capita payments made under P.L. 85-794 to members of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians from the proceeds of the sale of timber and lumber on the Red Lake Reservation.

l  Receipts derived from trust lands and distributed under P.L. 94-114 to the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians regarding submarginal land held in trust by the United States.

l  Judgment funds distributed under P.L. 98-123 § 3 to the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians.

l  Per capita and dividend payment distributions of judgment funds made under P.L. 99-130 to members of the Prairie Island Sioux, Lower Sioux, and Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Communities of Minnesota.

l  Funds distributed per capita under P.L. 99-146 to members of the Chippewa of Lake Superior and the Chippewa of the Mississippi.

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Tribal Gaming Revenues

For all health care programs, count per capita distributions of gaming revenues (casino profits) as unearned income in the month received and as an asset in the following months.

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