Current through February, 2024
(a) The sponsor of
a non-citizen who executed an affidavit of support pursuant to section 213A of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) on or after December 19, 1997, shall
have their income and their spouse's income deemed as available to a
non-citizen requesting medical assistance. For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Sponsor" means an individual who is
either required to execute or has executed an affidavit of support.
(2) "Affidavit of support" means a document
that an individual completes and signs to accept financial responsibility for
another person, who may be, but is not required to be, a relative who is coming
to the United States to live permanently. The person who completes and signs
the affidavit of support becomes the sponsor of the relative (or other
individual) coming to live in the United States.
(b) The income of a non-citizen's sponsor and
the sponsor's spouse shall be deemed available to the non-citizen until such
time as the non-citizen:
(1) Achieves United
States citizenship through naturalization pursuant to chapter
2 of Title III of the INA; or
(2) Has worked forty qualifying quarters of
coverage as defined under Title II of the Social Security Act or can be
credited with such qualifying quarters as provided under
8 U.S.C. §
1645. In the case of any such qualifying
quarter beginning after December 31, 1996, the non-citizen must not have
received any Federal means-tested public benefit during any such
period.
(c) The
non-citizen's failure to provide information and verification regarding the
income of their sponsor and the sponsor's spouse, as applicable, shall
disqualify the non-citizen from receiving medical assistance.
(d) The income of a non-citizen's sponsor and
the sponsor's spouse shall not be deemed available to a non-citizen for
coverage of emergency medical assistance as described in chapter
17-1723.1.
(e) Special provisions
in the case of an indigent non-citizen. The deeming of income in subsection (a)
shall not be applicable for a twelvemonth period from the date a non-citizen is
determined to be indigent as defined in this subsection.
(1) The department may determine a
non-citizen to be indigent when the non-citizen is unable to obtain food and
shelter because the non-citizen's own income plus any cash, food, housing, or
other assistance provided by other individuals, including the sponsor and the
sponsor's spouse, does not exceed one hundred thirty-three per cent of the
federal poverty level for the non-citizen's applicable household
size;
(2) The department will only
consider the actual amount of income contributed by the sponsor and the
sponsor's spouse for a twelve-month period, which begins on the date of such
determination of indigent status and ends twelve months after such
date;
(3) Each period of indigence
is renewable for additional twelve month periods; and
(4) The department must notify the federal
Attorney General of each such determination, including the names of the sponsor
and the sponsored non-citizen involved.
(f) Special provisions in the case of a
non-citizen battered spouse or child. Deeming of income of the sponsor and the
sponsor's spouse described in subsection (a) shall not apply for a twelve-month
period if the non-citizen who was subjected to the battery or cruelty is not
residing in the same residence of the batterer.
(1) This provision applies to:
(A) A non-citizen who was battered or
subjected to extreme cruelty in the U.S. by a spouse or parent, or by a member
of the spouse's or parent's family residing in the same residence as the
non-citizen and the spouse or parent consented or acquiesced to such battery or
cruelty;
(B) A non-citizen whose
child was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the U.S. by the
non-citizen's spouse or parent, or by a member of the spouse's or parent's
family residing in the same residence as the non-citizen and the non-citizen
did not actively participate in the battery or cruelty, and the spouse or
parent consented or acquiesced to such battery or cruelty; or
(C) A non-citizen child who was residing with
a parent who was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the U.S. by the
parent's spouse or by a member of the spouse's family residing in the same
residence as the parent and non-citizen child and the spouse consented or
acquiesced to such battery or cruelty.
(2) The battery or cruelty must be
substantially connected to the need for public benefits which means that
without the support of the batterer, the non-citizen is unable to obtain food
and shelter because the non-citizen' s own income plus any cash, food, housing,
or assistance provided by other individuals including the sponsor, does not
exceed one hundred thirty-three per cent of the poverty income level for the
non-citizen's applicable household size.
(3) After the twelve-month period ends, the
department shall continue to exempt the batterer's income when the battery or
cruelty is recognized in an order of a judge or administrative law judge or a
prior determination of the USCIS, and the department determines that such
battery or cruelty still has a substantial connection to the need for benefits.
(g) The deeming of
income provisions in subsection (a) shall not apply to a lawfully present
non-citizen who is a child under age nineteen years or who is a pregnant
woman.
(h) The deemed income of the
non-citizen's sponsor and the sponsor's spouse shall be determined in the
following manner for each non-citizen's sponsor:
(1) Count the MAGI-based income of the
sponsor and his or her spouse (if living together);
(2) Deduct one hundred thirty-three per cent
of the federal poverty level for the sponsor's applicable household size which
includes the sponsor, sponsor's spouse (if living together) and their
dependents;
(3) Deem any remaining
balance as income to the sponsored non-citizen; and
(4) If a sponsor sponsored more than one
non-citizen, the income deemed available shall be prorated amongst the number
of non-citizens sponsored by that sponsor. The income of a sponsor and
sponsor's spouse (if living together), who expects to claim a sponsored
non-citizen as a tax dependent, shall be counted as either income deemed
available according to paragraphs (1) through (4), or part of the household's
MAGI-based income.
(i)
If income deemed available for a sponsored non-citizen results in ineligibility
for his or her household, redetermine the non-sponsored household member's
eligibility in the following manner
(1) Keep
the household size the same and if applicable, continue to apply MAGI-based
methodology; and
(2) Do not count
the income deemed available toward the non-sponsored household member (s).
