Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
Division 28 - Division of County Operations
Rule 016.28.23-004 - Act 923 - Independence Accounts
Medical Services Policy Manual, Section E
E-500 Resources - Aid to the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (AABD)
Resources are generally defined as those assets, including both real and personal property, which an individual, or couple, possesses. Resources include all liquid assets as well as those assets which are not presently in liquid form. Liquid assets are those assets that can be easily converted to cash such as checking or savings accounts, certificates of deposit or life insurance policies with a cash surrender value.
In order for assets to be considered as resources, property or an interest in property must have a cash value that is available to the individual upon disposition.
Countable resources will be determined on the first day of the month. When resource eligibility exists at the beginning of a month, it continues for the full month. A resource change that occurs during a month in which resource eligibility exists will not be considered for determination of countable resources until the first of the month following the change.
When an individual is ineligible at the beginning of a month due to excess resources, ineligibility due to resources exists for the full month.
Note: When an individual is unaware of ownership of an asset, the asset is not counted as a resource. A discovered liquid asset will be counted as income in the month of discovery and as a resource in the months following. Non-liquid assets will be counted as a resource in the month of discovery and thereafter.
Assets which have been received during the month and considered as income may not also be counted with resources during the same month (unless the income received is given away during the month it is received. Refer to MS H-323). For example, if an individual had a checking account balance of one thousand nine hundred fifty dollars ($1,950) as of June 1, the receipt of an SSA check of three hundred dollars ($300) during June would not cause the individual's resource limit of two thousand dollars ($2,000) to be exceeded during June even if the entire check was deposited in the checking account. The individual's resource eligibility would not be affected by the receipt of income during the month. It would only be affected if the income was retained to the extent that it caused the limit of two thousand dollars ($2,000) to be exceeded as of the beginning of July.
SSI lump sum benefits (never counted as income) will be excluded from resource consideration for nine (9) full months after the month of receipt (Refer to MS E-410 #3 and E-523 #6). SSA lump sum payments also have the nine (9) month resource exclusion but will count as income in the month of receipt.
Interest earned on the excluded funds will be counted as income in the month accrued and, if retained, as a resource in the month following.
Each individual must be advised of how countable resources are determined and how resource changes can affect eligibility.
Note: An amount up to the amount of benefits paid out by a Qualified Long Term Care Insurance Partnership policy may be used as a resource disregard when determining eligibility for Health Care (Refer to MS H-510).
When determining eligibility and cost sharing requirements for Long Term Services and Supports categories, assets accumulated in an individual's Independence Account during or after an individual's enrollment in Workers with Disability (WWD) category will be excluded. Accounts that may be designated as Independence Accounts may be funded by any income or assets from retirement benefits earned or accumulated from employment income or employer contributions (including retirement or pension accounts through an employer) while the person was employed and eligible for and receiving WWD benefits. The exclusion also applies to any interest and earnings accrued by the account during and subsequent to enrollment in WWD. These accounts must be held separate from other resources. DHS will review the Independence Accounts, including deposits and withdrawals, at each annual reevaluation.
NOTE: No additional deposits into the account are allowed once the individual is no longer enrolled in WWD. Actions involving the Independence accounts are subject to standard eligibility rules relating to resources (for example: a transfer from the account for less than fair market value would be subject to transfer-of-asset rules).
NOTE: Withdrawals from Independence accounts are subject to regular eligibility rules.
RULES SUBMITTED FOR REPEAL
Rule #1: Social Services Block Grant Manual
Rule #2: Social Services Block Grant Pre-Expenditure Plan
