Medicaid Policy                                                                 

417-16 Income from Protected Assets

Effective Date: June 1, 2024

Previous Policy 

 

A.   SSI Dedicated Bank Accounts for Children

 

1.    Do not count interest earned from SSI Lump Sum Funds paid to a minor child and deposited in a "dedicated account" which meets the requirements to be exempt as a resource.  

2.    If a child continues to receive SSI after turning 18, and the dedicated account continues to meet exemption requirements, the interest continues to be excluded from income.

3.    If the dedicated account can no longer be excluded, or the person is no longer on SSI, both the principal and the interest earned on the funds become countable resources. 

4.    See section 531-2 for asset exclusion.

 

B.   Interest Accrued and Matching Funds Paid on an Individual Development Account (IDA)

 

1.     Exclude interest from both TANF and demonstration project IDA's. 

2.    Also, do not count matching funds paid into the account from the TANF agency or from a non-profit organization making matching fund contributions.

3.    For earned income exclusion, see 419-5.

 

C.   ABLE Accounts

 

1. Exclude from income ABLE account deposits from someone other than the beneficiary, interest earnings and dividend earning.

  2. Income of the beneficiary that the beneficiary, or representative, deposits to an ABLE account is countable income in the month the income is received.  This applies even if the          income is directly deposited into the account.  This may include benefit income such as Social Security disability payments, or earned income of the beneficiary.

3. Exclude from income any distributions from an ABLE account that are, or will be used, for qualified disability-related expenses. Count only distributions that are identified as being used for non-disability related expenses. The ABLE plan administrator is responsible for monthly accounting of the distributions. Payments for qualified disability-related expenses do not have to be made in the same month as a distribution is made to a beneficiary. The payment can be made in a subsequent month within the year. The distribution amount remains exempt even if deposited in another financial account until spent.

Qualified disability related expenses include, but are not limited to:

• education,
• housing,
• transportation,
• employment training and support,
• assistive technology and personal support services,
• health, prevention and wellness,
• financial management and administrative services,
• legal fees,
• expenses for oversight and monitoring,
• funeral and burial expenses, and
• other expenses reasonably related to the individual's disability.

4.    For resource exclusion see section 521-44.