This manual letter lists new and revised material for the Health Care Programs Manual (HCPM). Unless otherwise noted, new and revised instructions are effective March 1, 2009.
Many sections of Chapter 20 are updated.
Chapter 23 - Medical Assistance (MA) Payment of Long-Term Care (LTC) Services.
Revisions were made throughout this chapter, with some information moved to other sections, some new sections added and some of the previous sections archived. Consequently, many of the sections have been renumbered. A Crosswalk may help explain the changes.
l Section 20 - Income.
n Adds an index of all income types discussed in the HCPM.
n Adds an overview of earned and unearned income, guidelines for whether in come is counted or not counted, or disregarded or deducted from gross income.
l Section 20.05 - Availability of Income.
n Formerly 20.10.
n Language is added to more accurately reflect availability requirements under the law.
n Adds information about credit life and disability insurance coverage.
n Incorporates information about pass-thru funds that was previously on the Excluded Income page (formerly 20.05).
n Deletes information about when no income is reported. New page 20.15 now includes this information.
l Section 20.05.05 - Garnishment and Other Withholding.
n Formerly 20.10.05 (Overpayment Withholding).
n Clarifies language and policy.
l Section 20.10 - Verification of Income.
n Formerly 20.15.
n Incorporates Bulletin #08-21-05, "Clarifications for MinnesotaCare Income Calculation and Redesigned Income Worksheet."
n Clarifies which documents to use to verify self-employment income if the client has not completed taxes for the most recent tax year.
n Reorganizes information to clarify program differences in verifying income.
l Section 20.15 - No Income Reported (New).
n Incorporates Bulletin #08-21-05, "Clarifications for MinnesotaCare Income Calculation and Redesigned Income Worksheet."
n Incorporates information that was previously included on former 20.05 Availability of Income.
l Section 20.20 - Conversion of Assets (New).
Clarifies policy for when an asset is sold, exchanged or replaced.
l Section 20.25 - Earned and Unearned Income.
n Formerly 20.20, Categories of Income.
n Adds additional types and descriptions of earned income.
n Clarifies policy for costs to secure unearned income.
l Section 20.25.05 - Excluded Income.
n Formerly 20.05.
n Reorganizes information to make it more user-friendly.
n Adds new exclusions for Child Care and Development Block Grant Act payments and home produce.
n Clarifies information about Disaster Assistance, Payments to Veterans’ Children with Certain Birth Defects, Japanese and Aleutian Restitution payments, Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) payments, Consumer Support Grants and Family Support Grants.
n Moved information on gifts to children with life-threatening conditions to 20.25.80, Gift Income.
n Moved information on foster care assistance payments to 20.25.30, Public Assistance Payments (formerly 20.25.25).
n Moved information on cash received from sale of property, reverse mortgages, and money withdrawn from accounts to 20.20, Conversion of Assets.
n Moved information on pass-thru funds to 20.05, Availability of Income (formerly 20.10).
n Deleted information on adoption assistance, tribal payments and in-kind income; they are more fully addressed on other pages.
l Section 20.25.10 - In-Kind Income.
n Formerly 20.25.05.
n Clarifies that in-kind income can be earned or unearned.
l Section 20.25.15 - Lump Sum Income.
n Formerly 20.25.10.
n Incorporates information about irregular or infrequent income.
n Addresses lump sums of RSDI and SSI benefits, and other special circumstances related to federal benefits.
n Provides additional information to clarify policy by program.
n Moved information on Budgeting Lump Sum Income to 21.55.
l Section 20.25.25 - Seasonal Income.
n Formerly 20.25.20.
n Incorporates information from bulletin #08-21-05, ”Clarifications for MinnesotaCare Income Calculation and Redesigned Income Worksheet.”
n Reorganizes the information for verifying and calculating seasonal income.
l Section 20.25.30 - Public Assistance Payments Income.
n Formerly 20.25.25.
n Provides a clarification for Method B, which currently excludes adoption assistance payment for children under age 22, by deleting the unnecessary reference to age.
n Information about bills paid by a third party is moved to Excluded Income, 20.25.05.
n Added information on income that is counted and excluded for long-term care.
l Section 20.25.35 - RSDI and SSI.
n Formerly 20.25.30.
n Information remains the same but is reorganized by program.
l Section 20.25.40 - Child Support Income.
n Formerly 20.25.35.
n Clarifies the programs included in the information for MA and GAMC.
l Section 20.25.45 - Child Income.
n Formerly 20.25.40 (Dependent Child Income).
n Definitions were removed from this section and are provided in the glossary.
n Clarifies the programs included in the information for MA and GAMC.
n Reorganized information so all Method A dependent child earned income exclusions are listed together.
l Section 20.25.50 - Interest and Dividends.
n Formerly 20.25.45.
n Clarifies the programs included in the information for MA and GAMC.
n Adds information to count interest and dividends as unearned income for an LTC income calculation.
l Section 20.25.55 - Student Financial Aid.
n Formerly 20.25.50.
n Reorganizes information to clarify and provide more detailed descriptions.
l Section 20.25.60 - Tribal Payments.
n Formerly 20.25.55 (Tribal Land Settlements and Trusts).
n Adds exclusion for per capita payments from funds held in trust by the Secretary of Interior.
n Adds exclusions that are for specific Minnesota tribes
l Section 20.25.65 - Refugee Resettlement Grants.
n Formerly 20.25.60.
n Clarifies information about program differences for this income.
l Section 20.25.70 - AmeriCorps (New).
n Adds information that this income is excluded for Method B.
n Provides detailed information about AmeriCorps programs.
n Information on AmeriCorps was previously included on the Excluded Income page.
l Section 20.25.75 - Gift Income (New).
Consolidates gift policy that was previously addressed in numerous sections.
l Section 20.25.80 - Hostile Fire Pay (New).
Explains this income is no longer counted for Method B.
l Section 20.25.85 - Japanese Persecution Payments (New).
No policy changes. This information was previously included on page 20.05.05.
l Section 20.30 - Income Changes.
n No policy changes.
n Combines MinnesotaCare, MA/GAMC and MA-EPD policy into this section.
n Incorporates Bulletin #08-21-05, "Clarifications for MinnesotaCare Income Calculation and Redesigned Income Worksheet."
Self-Employment Section of Chapter 20
This section did not have any changes besides page renumbering.
l Section 20.25.20 - Self-Employment Income. Formerly 20.25.15 (Overpayment Withholding).
l Section 20.25.20.05 - MinnesotaCare Self-Employment Income. Formerly 20.25.15.05.
l Section 20.25.20.10 - MA/GAMC Self-Employment Income. Formerly 20.25.15.10.
l Section 20.25.20.15 - Use of Home. Formerly 20.25.15.15.
l Section 20.25.20.20 - Transportation. Formerly 20.25.15.20.
l Section 20.25.20.25 - Rental Income. Formerly 20.25.15.25.
l Section 20.25.20.30 - Roomer/Boarder Income. Formerly 20.25.15.30.
l Section 20.25.20.35 - In-Home Daycare. Formerly 20.25.15.35.
l Section 20.25.20.40 - Farm Income. Formerly 20.25.15.40.
Archived Sections of Chapter 20
l Section 20.05.05 - Program Provisions for Excluded Income.
Information has been incorporated into section 20.25.05 (Excluded Income).
l Section 20.25 - Types of Income.
Information has been incorporated into section 20.25 (Earned and Unearned Income).
l Section 20.30.05 - MinnesotaCare Income Changes.
Information is incorporated into section 20.30 (Income Changes).
l Section 20.30.10 - MA/GAMC Income Changes.
Information is incorporated into section 20.30 (Income Changes).
l Section 20.30.15 - MA-EPD Income Changes.
Information is incorporated into section 20.30 (Income Changes).
l Section 20.35 - Legal Authorities.
Information not needed.
Chapter 07 - Applications.
l Section 07.05.05 - Applications for Health Care Programs.
n Updates the form number for the Combined Application Form (CAF) to the new DHS-5223.
n Information under IVE-E Foster Care Forms is reworded for clarification.
l Section 07.05.10 - Application Required.
Minor rewording to clarify that workers should contact applicants to update an application or renewal on file if the person or household reapplies for MinnesotaCare less than 11 months from the date of the last application or renewal.
Chapter 08 - Renewals.
l Section 08.10 - Renewal Forms.
n Updates the form number for the Combined Application Form (CAF) to the new DHS-5223.
n Updates the form for six-month renewals to the new DHS-5576.
l Section 08.20.05 - Processing MinnesotaCare Renewals.
Information about accepting faxed renewals is deleted. Accept and process faxed renewals as any other renewal.
l Section 08.25.05 - Processing MA/GAMC Renewals.
Information about accepting faxed renewals is deleted. Accept and process faxed renewals as any other renewal.
Chapter 19 - Assets.
l Section 19.40.05 - Transfer Penalty Exceptions.
Deleted the note regarding transfers into irrevocable trusts. The information was redundant and did not help to clarify this information.
l Section 19.45 - Asset Assessments.
A note is added to clarify that an MA enrollee who is absent from a long-term care facility (LTCF) on a leave day is still considered to be residing in a LTCF.
Chapter 23 - MA Payment of LTC Services.
l Section 23.10 - Determining Which Income Calculation to Use.
Clarifies that an MA enrollee who is absent from a long-term care facility (LTCF) on a leave day is still considered to be residing in a LTCF.