New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 8 - SOCIAL SERVICES
Chapter 281 - MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY - INSTITUTIONAL CARE (CATEGORIES 081, 083 AND 084)
Part 500 - INCOME AND RESOURCE STANDARDS
Section 8.281.500.19 - UNEARNED INCOME

(1) Social security overpayments: If the social security administration withholds an amount because of an overpayment, the gross social security payment amount is used to determine eligibility. See Subsection B of 8.281.500.22 NMAC for instructions regarding calculation of the medical care credit.

(2) Rental income: If an applicant or recipient has rental property, the ISD worker allows the cost of real estate taxes, maintenance and repairs, advertising, mortgage insurance and interest payments on the mortgage as deductions from the amount received as rent.

(3) Interest on promissory note or sales contract: The portion of the payment representing interest received from a promissory note or sales contract is considered unearned income. The market value of promissory notes or sales contracts and the portion of the payment representing payment of the principal are considered resources. See also Subsection L of 8.281.500.13 NMAC.

(4) Income from annuities, pensions and other periodic payments: Payments from annuities, pensions, social security benefits, disability, veterans benefits, worker compensation, railroad retirement annuities and unemployment insurance benefits and other periodic payments are counted as unearned income.

(1) Interest from an excluded burial fund: Interest from an excluded burial fund is not considered unearned income if the interest is applied toward the fund balance. If the interest is paid to the applicant or recipient, it is considered unearned income.

(2) Tax refunds and earned income tax credit: Tax refunds from any public agency for property taxes or taxes on food purchases are totally excluded. Any portion of a federal income tax return which constitutes an earned income tax credit is excluded.

(3) Grants, scholarships and fellowships: All grants, scholarships and fellowships used to pay tuition and fees at an educational institution, including vocational and technical schools, are totally excluded. Any portion of a grant, scholarship or fellowship used to pay any other expenses, such as food, clothing or shelter, is not excluded.

(4) Veteran's pensions: Allowances for aid and attendance (A & A) and unusual medical expenses (UME) are excluded from unearned income for determination of eligibility. If an applicant or recipient receives an augmented VA pension as a veteran or veteran's widow or widower, the pension amount may include an increment for a dependent. If so, the VA must be contacted to provide documentation of the portion of the pension which represents the dependent's increment. When verified, this amount of the VA pension is considered the dependent's income.

(5) Payments by a third party: Third party payments are excluded as income if made directly to the applicant's or recipient's creditor.

(6) Indian tribe per capita payments: Funds held in trust by the secretary of the interior for an Indian tribe and distributed on a per capita basis and any interest and investment income from these funds, are excluded as income and resources in the eligibility determination process and the computation of the medical care credit.

(7) Plans for achieving self-support: Income derived from, or necessary to, an approved plan for achieving self-support for a blind or disabled applicant or recipient under 65 years of age is excluded.

(8) Agent orange settlement payments: Agent orange settlement payments made to applicant or recipient veterans or their survivors are excluded from consideration as income in determining eligibility.

(9) Radiation Exposure Compensation Act payments: Payments made under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act are excluded from consideration as income in determining eligibility.

(10) Victims compensation payments: Payments made by a state-administered fund established to aid victims of crime are excluded from consideration as income in determining eligibility. These payments are included as countable income when calculating the medical care credit.

(11) Lump sums for retroactive periods: SSI lump sum payments for retroactive periods are excluded from consideration as countable income in the month received.

(12) Life insurance and other burial benefits: Life insurance and other burial benefits are unearned income to the beneficiary (not the owner). The ISD worker must subtract the amount spent on the insured recipient's last illness or burial up to $1,500. Any excess is counted as unearned income.

(13) One hundred percent state funded assistance payment: Any one hundred percent-state-funded assistance payment based on need, such as general assistance (GA) is excluded. Any interim payments made by a state or municipality from all state or local funds while an SSI application is pending are excluded.

(14) National vaccine injury compensation program (NVICP) payment: The NVICP funds are excluded as income or a resource until they are actually disbursed by the issuing agent. However, they are counted as income in the month in which they are received and counted as a resource in the following months, provided that the funds in question are not specifically earmarked for medical expenses. If the payment is designated for both living expenses and medical care, a determination must be made to identify how much of the payment is for living expenses, and how much is for medical care. The only portion actually counted then is that amount which is for living expenses. Therefore, a determination must be made as to how the payment is apportioned before making an eligibility determination.

(15) Remembrance, responsibility and the future payments: Payments by the remembrance, responsibility and the future foundation to individual survivors forced into slave labor by the Nazis are excluded as income in determining eligibility.