Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024
A. Financial eligibility for waiver
participants is determined according to the provisions of this regulation and
applicable sections of COMAR 10.09.24 Medical Assistance Eligibility, as cited
in this section.
B. Categorically
Needy. An individual is eligible for waiver services as categorically needy if
the individual is receiving Medical Assistance as:
(1) A recipient of Supplemental Security
Income (SSI);
(2) A member of a low
income family with children, as described in § 1931 of the Social Security
Act; or
(3) A recipient eligible in
another mandatory or optional categorically needy coverage group with full
Medical Assistance benefits, covered in the community under the State
Plan.
C. Optionally
Categorically Needy.
(1) An individual is
eligible for waiver services as optionally categorically needy in accordance
with 42 CFR § 435.217, if the individual's countable income
does not exceed 300 percent of the applicable payment rate for SSI, and the
individual's countable resources do not exceed the SSI resource standard for
one person.
(2) For the purpose of
determining financial eligibility for the optionally categorically needy, the
individual is treated as an assistance unit of one person.
(3) For the purpose of determining countable
income for the optionally categorically needy, income is determined based on
the income rules set forth in COMAR 10.09.24, which are applicable to an aged,
blind, or disabled individual who is institutionalized, with the exceptions
specified in §C(9) of this regulation.
(4) For the purpose of determining countable
resources for the optionally categorically needy, resources are determined
based on the resource rules set forth in COMAR 10.09.24, which are applicable
to an aged, blind, or disabled person who is institutionalized, with the
exceptions specified in §C(9) of this regulation.
(5) An individual is not eligible to receive
waiver services if a disposal of assets or establishment of a trust or annuity
results in a penalty under COMAR 10.09.24, until the penalty time
expires.
(6) The spousal
impoverishment rules at COMAR
10.09.24.10B -1
are applicable, except for the following differences in definitions:
(a) "Community spouse" means an individual
who:
(i) Lives in the community outside a
medical institution;
(ii) Is not
determined to meet the criteria for participation in the Waiver for Adults with
Traumatic Brain Injury or any other waiver under § 1915(C) of Title XIX of
the Social Security Act; and
(iii)
Is married to an institutionalized spouse.
(b) "Continuous period of
institutionalization" means:
(i) At least 30
consecutive days of institutional care in a nursing facility or other medical
institution; or
(ii) A
determination that a spouse meets the criteria for participation in the waiver
for adults with traumatic brain injury or any other waiver under § 1915(c)
of Title XIX of the Social Security Act.
(c) "Institutionalized spouse" means an
individual who is married to a community spouse and who is:
(i) An inpatient in a nursing facility or
other medical institution with a length of stay exceeding 30 days; or
(ii) Determined to meet the criteria for
participation in the waiver for adults with traumatic brain injury or any other
waiver under § 1915(c) of the Social Security Act.
(7) Medical Assistance eligibility
shall be redetermined at least every 12 months.
(8) As part of the determination and
redetermination of Medical Assistance eligibility as optionally categorically
needy, the Department of Human Resources shall determine whether the applicant
or recipient is eligible as a disabled person in accordance with COMAR
10.09.24.05E,
unless the applicant or recipient is aged, blind, or has been determined as
disabled by the Social Security Administration.
(9) All provisions of COMAR 10.09.24 which
are applicable to an aged, blind, or disabled individual who is
institutionalized are applicable to waiver applicants and participants who are
considered as optionally categorically needy, with the following exceptions in
full or in part:
(a) COMAR
10.09.24.04J(1)-(3);
(b) COMAR
10.09.24.04K;
(c) COMAR
10.09.24.06B(2)(a)(ii);
(d) COMAR
10.09.24.08G(1);
(e) COMAR
10.09.24.08H;
(f) COMAR
10.09.24.09H;
(g) COMAR
10.09.24.10H;
(h) COMAR
10.09.24.10H -1;
and
(i) COMAR
10.09.24.15A
-2(2).
(10) Home Exclusion. The home, as defined in
COMAR 10.09.24.08B, is
not a countable resource under §C of this regulation if it is occupied by
the waiver applicant or participant, the applicant's or participant's spouse,
or any one of the following relatives who are medically or financially
dependent on the applicant or participant:
(a)
Child;
(b) Parent; or
(c) Sibling.
D. Posteligibility Determination of Available
Income for Optionally Categorically Needy. Participants in the waiver for
adults with traumatic brain injury are not required to pay towards their cost
of care, and therefore they are not subject to a posteligibility determination
of available income.
E. Medically
Needy. An individual is not eligible for waiver services if the individual is
receiving Medical Assistance as a medically needy person in accordance with
COMAR 10.09.24.03D.