R414-305-3. Aged, Blind and Disabled Non-Institutional and Institutional Medicaid Resource Provisions

  (1) To determine resource eligibility of an individual on the basis of being aged, blind or disabled, the Department adopts and incorporates by reference 42 CFR 435.840, 435.845, October 1, 2012 ed., and 20 CFR 416.1201, 416.1202, 416.1205 through 416.1224, 416.1229 through 416.1239, and 416.1247 through 416.1250, April 1, 2012 ed. The Department also adopts and incorporates by reference Section 1917(b), (d), (e), (f) and (g) of the Compilation of the Social Security Laws in effect January 1, 2013. The eligibility agency may not count as an available resource any assets that are prohibited under other federal laws from being counted as a resource to determine eligibility for federally-funded medical assistance programs. In addition, the eligibility agency applies the following rules.

  (2) A resource is available when the individual owns it or has the legal right to sell or dispose of the resource for the individual's own benefit.

  (3) Except for the Medicaid Work Incentive Program, the resource limit for aged, blind or disabled Medicaid is $2,000 for a one-person household and $3,000 for a two-person household.

  (4) For an individual who meets the criteria for the Medicaid Work Incentive Program, the resource limit is $15,000. This limit applies whether the household size is one or more than one.

  (5) The eligibility agency shall base non-institutional and institutional Medicaid eligibility on all available resources owned by the individual, or considered available to the individual from a spouse or parent. The eligibility agency may not grant eligibility based upon the individual's intent to or action of disposing of non-liquid resources as described in 20 CFR 416.1240, April 1, 2012 ed., unless Social Security is excluding the resources for an SSI recipient while the recipient takes steps to dispose of the excess resources.

  (6) The eligibility agency may not count any resource or the interest from a resource held within the rules of the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. Any money from the resource that is given to the child as unearned income is a countable resource that begins the month after the child receives it.

  (7) The eligibility agency shall count the resources of a ward that are controlled by a legal guardian as the ward's resources.

  (8) The eligibility agency may not count lump sum payments that an individual receives on a sales contract for the sale of an exempt home if the entire proceeds are used to purchase a new exempt home within three calendar months of when the property is sold. The eligibility agency shall grant the individual one three-month extension if more than three months is needed to complete the actual purchase. Proceeds are defined as all payments made on the principal of the contract. Proceeds do not include interest earned on the principal.

  (9) If a resource is available, but a legal impediment exists, the eligibility agency may not count the resource until it becomes available. The individual must take appropriate steps to make the resource available unless one of the following conditions as determined by a person with established expertise relevant to the resource exists:

  (a) Reasonable action does not allow the resource to become available; and

  (b) The cost of making the resource available exceeds its value.

  (10) Water rights attached to the home and the lot on which the home sits are exempt as long as the home is the individual's principal place of residence.

  (11) For an institutionalized individual, the eligibility agency may not consider a home or life estate to be an exempt resource.

  (12) To determine eligibility for nursing facility or other long-term care services, the eligibility agency shall exclude the value of the individual's principal home or life estate from countable resources if one of the following conditions is met:

  (a) the individual intends to return to the home;

  (b) the individual's spouse resides in the home;

  (c) the individual's child who is under the age of 21, or who is blind or disabled resides in the home; or

  (d) a reliant relative of the individual resides in the home.

  (13) Even if the conditions in Subsection R414-305-3(12) are met, an individual is ineligible to receive nursing facility services or other long-term care services if the full equity value of the individual's home or life estate exceeds $500,000, or increased value according to the provisions of 42 U.S.C. 1396p(f)(1)(C) unless the individual's spouse, or the individual's child who is under the age of 21 or is blind or permanently disabled lawfully resides in the home. The individual may only qualify for Medicaid to cover ancillary services.

  (14) For Aged, Blind and Disabled Medicaid, the eligibility agency may not count up to $6,000 of equity value of non-business property used to produce goods or services essential to home use daily activities.

  (15) The eligibility agency may retroactively designate for burial a previously unreported resource that meets the criteria for burial funds found in 20 CFR 416.1231. The effective date of the exclusion cannot be earlier than the first day of the month after the month in which the funds were designated for burial or intended for burial, were separated from non-burial funds, and the client was eligible for Medicaid. The eligibility agency shall treat the resources as funds set aside for burial and the amount exempted cannot exceed the limit established for the SSI program.

  (16) One vehicle is exempt if it is used for regular transportation needs of the individual or a household member.

  (17) The eligibility agency may not count resources of an SSI recipient who has a plan for achieving self-support approved by the Social Security Administration when the resources are set aside under the plan to purchase work-related equipment or meet self-support goals.

  (18) The eligibility agency may not count an irrevocable burial trust as a resource. Nevertheless, if the owner is institutionalized or on home and community-based waiver Medicaid, the value of the trust, which exceeds $7,000, is considered a transferred resource.

  (19) The eligibility agency may not count business resources that are required for employment or self-employment.

  (20) For the Medicaid Work Incentive Program, the eligibility agency may not count the following additional resources of the eligible individual:

  (a) Retirement funds held in an employer or union pension plan, retirement plan or account, including 401(k) plans, or an Individual Retirement Account, even if the funds are available to the individual.

  (b) A second vehicle when it is used by a spouse or child of the eligible individual living in the household to get to work.

  (21) After qualifying for the Medicaid Work Incentive Program, the eligibility agency may not count the resources described in Subsection R414-305-3(20) to allow the individual to qualify for other Medicaid programs for the aged, blind or disabled, and not solely the Medicaid Work Incentive, even if the individual ceases to have earned income or no longer meets the criteria for the Work Incentive Program.

  (22) Assets of an alien's sponsor, and the sponsor's spouse, if any, when the sponsor has signed an Affidavit of Support pursuant to Section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act after December 18, 1997, are considered available to the alien. The eligibility agency shall stop counting assets from a sponsor when the alien becomes a naturalized United States (U.S.) citizen, or has worked 40 qualifying quarters as defined under Title II of the Social Security Act or can be credited with 40 qualifying work quarters. After December 31, 1996, a creditable qualifying work quarter is one during which the alien did not receive any federal means-tested public benefit.

  (23) The eligibility agency shall not consider a sponsor's assets as being available to applicants who are eligible for Medicaid for emergency services only.

  (24) The eligibility agency may not count as a resource any federal tax refund and refundable credit that an individual receives for 12 months after the month of receipt.

  (25) The eligibility agency may not count as a resource, for one year after the date of receipt, any payments that an individual receives under the Individual Indian Money Account Litigation Settlement under the Claims Resettlement Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111 291, 124 Stat. 3064.

  (26) The eligibility agency may not count certain property and rights of federally-recognized American Indians including certain tribal lands held in trust which are located on or near a reservation, or allotted lands located on a previous reservation; ownership interests in rents, leases, royalties or usage rights related to natural resources (including extraction of natural resources); and ownership interests and usage rights in personal property which has unique religious, spiritual, traditional or cultural significance, and rights that support subsistence or traditional lifestyles, as defined in Section 5006(b)(1) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111 5, 123 Stat. 115.

  (27) The eligibility agency shall not count as a resource a qualified Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account.

  (28) The eligibility agency shall count only the portion of an asset such as a retirement plan that is legally available to an individual when that asset has been divided between two divorced spouses pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order.

  (29) Under the authority of Subsection 1902(r)(2) of the Social Security Act, to determine an individual's eligibility for Medicaid for long-term care services, the Department disregards otherwise countable assets or resources in an amount equal to the insurance benefit payments made to or on behalf of an individual who is a beneficiary under a qualified long-term care insurance partnership policy that meets the provisions found in 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)(1)(C)(iii). The amount of the disregard applies to otherwise countable assets the client owns or that are deemed available to the client for the purpose of determining eligibility, and is equal to the amount of benefits the client has received from the partnership policy up through the month immediately before the month of application for long-term care assistance under Utah Medicaid.

  (a) This resource disregard applies to aged, blind or disabled individuals who qualify for Medicaid under one of the following eligibility coverage groups found under:

  (i) Subsection 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(V) of the Social Security Act; or

  (ii) Subsection 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(VI) of the Social Security Act.

  (b) The Department treats payments received after eligibility for long-term care services as a third-party liability that does not result in the disregard of additional resources.

  (c) Assets disregarded under Subsection R414-305-3(28) are not subject to estate recovery authorized under Section 26-19-13.7, with the exception defined below in Subsection R414-305-3(28)(e).

  (d) This disregard is not specific to any one asset. Any countable assets the individual owns or that are deemed available to the client are subject to the provisions defined in Section R414-305-9 regarding transfers of assets. The Department shall apply a penalty period or an overpayment proceeding for any transfer of assets for less than fair market value. In the event the Department learns of an asset transfer at the time of an estate recovery action for which a penalty period is not assessed or an overpayment is not collected, the Department shall reduce the amount of assets in the estate that could otherwise be excluded from the estate recovery requirements by the value of the assets transferred for less than fair market value. The Department may also take legal steps to recover assets transferred for less than fair market value.

  (e) Home equity in excess of the standard described in Subsection R414-305-3(13) is not a countable resource, so this disregard does not affect the application of Subsection R414-305-3(13).

  (f) The Department recognizes long-term care insurance partnership policies purchased in other states under the reciprocity requirements of the statute. The beneficiary of the policy must have been a resident in a partnership state when coverage first became effective under the policy.

  (30) Life estates.

  (a) For non-institutional Medicaid, the eligibility agency shall count life estates as resources only when a market exists for the sale of the life estate as established by knowledgeable sources.

  (b) For Institutional Medicaid, the eligibility agency shall count life estates even if no market exists for the sale of the life estate, unless the life estate can be excluded as defined in Subsection R414-305-3(12).

  (c) The individual may dispute the value of the life estate by verifying the property value to be less than the established value or by submitting proof based on the age and life expectancy of the life estate owner that the value of the life estate is lower. The value of a life estate shall be based upon the age of the individual and the current market value of the property.

  (d) The following table lists the life estate figure corresponding to the individual's age. The eligibility agency uses this figure to establish the value of a life estate:

TABLE

      Age Life Estate Figure

      0 .97188

      1 .98988

      2 .99017

      3 .99008

      4 .98981

      5 .98938

      6 .98884

      7 .98822

      8 .98748

      9 .98663

      10 .98565

      11 .98453

      12 .98329

      13 .98198

      14 .98066

      15 .97937

      16 .97815

      17 .97700

      18 .97590

      19 .97480

      20 .97365

      21 .97245

      22 .97120

      23 .96986

      24 .96841

      25 .96678

      26 .96495

      27 .96290

      28 .96062

      29 .95813

      30 .95543

      31 .95254

      32 .94942

      33 .94608

      34 .94250

      35 .93868

      36 .93460

      37 .93026

      38 .92567

      39 .92083

      40 .91571

      41 .91030

      42 .90457

      43 .89855

      44 .89221

      45 .88558

      46 .87863

      47 .87137

      48 .86374

      49 .85578

      50 .84743

      51 .83674

      52 .82969

      53 .82028

      54 .81054

      55 .80046

      56 .79006

      57 .77931

      58 .76822

      59 .75675

      60 .74491

      61 .73267

      62 .72002

      63 .70696

      64 .69352

      65 .67970

      66 .66551

      67 .65098

      68 .63610

      69 .62086

      70 .60522

      71 .58914

      72 .57261

      73 .55571

      74 .53862

      75 .52149

      76 .50441

      77 .48742

      78 .47049

      79 .45357

      80 .43659

      81 .41967

      82 .40295

      83 .38642

      84 .36998

      85 .35359

      86 .33764

      87 .32262

      88 .30859

      89 .29526

      90 .28221

      91 .26955

      92 .25771

      93 .24692

      94 .23728

      95 .22887

      96 .22181

      97 .21550

      98 .21000

      99 .20486

     100 .19975

     101 .19532

     102 .19054

     103 .18437

     104 .17856

     105 .16962

     106 .15488

     107 .13409

     108 .10068

     109 .04545