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Effective: April 1, 2009 |
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21.10ar2 - Determining Gross Income - MinnesotaCare (Archive) |
Archived: February 1, 2010 |
MinnesotaCare uses gross income to determine income eligibility and premium amounts. This section provides rules for determining the MCRE household annual gross income.
Follow these steps to determine the annual gross income for a MCRE household.
Note: Use the MinnesotaCare Income Worksheet (DHS-3352) to help calculate income. Include dollars and cents to compute the total household annual gross income. The DHS-3352 will truncate the end result.
1. Determine whose income must be counted as part of the MCRE household. See Deeming of Assets and Income and Household Composition.
2. Determine if any income is unavailable or excluded. Do not count unavailable or excluded income in the household's gross income.
3. Determine if appropriate verification of income has been received.
4. Determine annual self-employment income for self-employed clients by following the instructions in MinnesotaCare Self-Employment Income.
5. Determine the annual gross earned income for non-self-employed clients.
Calculate annual wages based on wages received in the past 30 days. The past 30 days is the 30-day period no earlier than one calendar month prior to the date of application or renewal.
Note: For information on verifying wage income, see Verification of Income.
Use the information on pay stubs or the Employer Statement (DHS-4279) to determine the frequency and amount of wage income. Do not use tax forms or W-2 statements to calculate wage income unless the wage income is from seasonal employment.
Note: For information on calculating seasonal wage income, see Seasonal Income.
n Determine how often each source of countable income is received.
m Base the determination on the last 30 days of earnings.
m Determine an average amount if the amount of earnings from the last 30 days varies.
Note: Use the most current information to project annual income if there has been an ongoing change in the amount.
Example:
Mr. and Mrs. B are both employed. Mr. B earns a salary of $1,500 per month. Mrs. B earns $5.50 per hour. Her hours vary and she is paid weekly. She enclosed the seven pay checks she has received so far with the application. She expects to continue working similar hours at the same pay.
Action:
Use the pay stubs that reflect income received in the past 30 days to calculate Mrs. B’s average weekly income. Include this in the household’s income.
n Multiply each source of projected average income by the number of times the person will be paid annually to determine an annual amount.
For example:
m Weekly income: x 52.
m Biweekly income: x 26.
m Semi-monthly income: x 24.
m Monthly income: x 12.
6. Determine the annual gross .
n Unearned income received at least monthly.
Calculate the annual unearned income using that income received in the past 30 days if unearned income is received at least monthly.
n Unearned income received less frequently than monthly.
For unearned income that is received at least once annually, but less frequently than monthly, calculate the annual unearned income based on the payments received in the past 12 months. The past 12 months is a period of 12 months no earlier than one year prior to the month of application.
n For people receiving who do not yet have a new job, annualize the UI amount to determine eligibility and premium amount, regardless of when the UI is scheduled to end. Advise the client to report any changes such as beginning employment.
Note: Some people may work and receive a partial UI payment.
Example:
Lisa reports on her application she has been receiving UI of $150 a week. She also reports she began a job working 30 hours a week at $6 per hour.
Action:
Do not include the UI payment in computing Lisa’s annual income if the UI will end due to her employment.
Example:
Arthur applies for MinnesotaCare in July. He is receiving UI of $150 per week. He has 16 weeks remaining on his claim. He has no other income and has not yet found a job.
Action:
Annualize Arthur’s UI and count it as unearned income when determining his gross annual counted income.
7. Add the annual gross wage income, unearned income and self-employment income to arrive at the total household income.
Do not anticipate future income changes. Do not verify income changes reported between renewals, but act on changes that are reported.
Example:
Loren applies for MCRE in March. He is employed full-time but expects to take a leave of absence from May 1 until August 1, during which he will receive no pay. He expects to resume his employment on August 1.
Action:
Calculate annual income based on the past 30 days. When Loren reports that he has taken a leave of absence, act on that change and recalculate household income. Finally, act on his income change and recalculate household income when he reports that he is back to work. Do not require verification of these income changes between renewals.
Example:
Mr. A reports has been unemployed for several years, but not receiving UI. He just started a job working 30 hours per week at $6 per hour. He will be paid biweekly.
Action:
Base his annual income on the projected wage information he provided. His annual countable income is 60 X $6 = $360 per paycheck. $360 X 26 paychecks = $9,360.
Example:
Jen applies for MCRE in April, while she is on maternity leave from her job. She currently has no income. She expects to return to work in the third week of June and receive her first weekly $400 pay check at the end of that week.
Action:
Calculate Jen's annual income using $0 income. Recalculate Jen’s income when she reports that she has returned to work.