SR 15-09 Dated 07/11

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

 

FROM OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, DFA:

Terry R. Smith

DFA SIGNATURE DATE:

February 27, 2015

AT (OFFICE):

Division of Family Assistance

TO:

DFA Supervisors

 

SUBJECT:

Change in the Date of Initiation of State Supplement Program (SSP) Cash and Medical Assistance Benefits

RETROACTIVE EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2011

 

SUMMARY

 

This SR releases a change in the date of initiation of financial and medical assistance benefits for the State Supplement Program (SSP), which includes the Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled (APTD), Old Age Assistance (OAA), and Aid to the Needy Blind (ANB) programs. This change is a result of budget reductions imposed by House Bill 2 (HB2), Chapter Law 223 (2011 session).

 

FORMER SSP INITIATION POLICY

NEW SSP INITIATION POLICY

As long as all SSP eligibility requirements were met during the month and the SSP case was eligible in all respects at the time the first SSP cash benefit allotment was issued, SSP cash and medical benefit issuance began on the first day of the month in which eligibility was being determined as long as eligibility was being determined in the application month.

Example: An ANB application dated July 5 that had been determined to be eligible in all respects, received a determination of blindness on July 28 and was run and confirmed that day. Cash and medical eligibility began July 1. Note: Although eligibility for medical assistance generally began the date of application, in this example, the medical eligibility began the same date as cash assistance because individuals who were eligible for cash assistance were automatically eligible for medical assistance. Since eligibility for cash assistance began on the first of the application month, eligibility for medical assistance also began on the first of the application month.

In the above situation, however, if the SSP eligibility determination had been made after the month of application, the SSP cash benefit issuance would have begun on the first day of the month in which eligibility was being determined. Eligibility for medical assistance would have begun on the date of application.

Example: An ANB application dated July 5 that has been determined to be eligible in all respects, received a determination of blindness on August 28 and was run and confirmed that day. Cash assistance began August 8; however, medical assistance began July 5 (the date of application).

When an SSP eligibility determination was made after the application processing periods described in AAM 116, Application Processing Time Frames, the initiation of SSP assistance began on:

·      the first day of the month in which the 45th day fell for ANB and OAA applicants; or

·      the first day of the month in which the 90th day fell for APTD applicants.

Example: An APTD application dated July 19 received a disability approval on February 3 of the following year and was confirmed that day. Cash eligibility began on October 1 of the previous year. In this instance, medical eligibility would start effective July 19 (the date of application).

Effective July 1, 2011, as long as all SSP eligibility requirements are met at the time the first SSP cash benefit allotment is issued, SSP:

·      cash benefit issuance begins on the first day of the semimonthly payroll period in which SSP eligibility is determined; and

·      medical benefit issuance begins as of the application date.

Example: An ANB application dated July 5 receives a determination of blindness on July 28 and is run and confirmed that day. Cash eligibility begins July 16. Medical eligibility begins July 5.

When an SSP eligibility determination is made after the mandated application processing periods, the initiation of SSP cash assistance begins on:

·      the payment period of the month in which the 45th day falls for ANB and OAA applicants; or

·      the payment period of the month in which the 90th day falls for APTD applicants.

Example: An APTD application dated July 19 receives a disability approval on February 3 of the following year and is confirmed that day. The 90th day is October 17. Cash begins October 16. Medical begins July 19.

 

BACKGROUND

 

Prior to State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2012 (July 1, 2011), State Supplement Payments (SSP) for financial assistance began on the first day of the month in which eligibility was being determined, provided that all eligibility requirements were met during that month and the case was eligible in all respects at the time the first check was issued. As part of the SFY 2012 budget reductions mandated by the Governor, the Governor authorized DHHS to align the start date for SSP financial assistance with the start date for FANF financial assistance. During policy development, it was discovered that using all of the the FANF start date policy for SSP would actually result in an increase in cost to the State budget. To realize the necessary savings, the SSP policy was adjusted so that the Start Date policy for financial assistance was similar to the policy for FANF, but not exactly the same.

 

POLICY

 

As long as all SSP eligibility requirements are met at the time the first SSP benefit allotment is issued, SSP:

 

·      cash benefit issuance, which includes the APTD, OAA, and ANB programs, begins the first day of the semimonthly payroll period in which SSP eligibility is determined; and

·      medical benefit issuance begins as of the application date, unless retroactive medical assistance has been requested, and then current policy applies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

APTD Application Date

APTD Disability Approval Date

Old Cash Initiation Start Date

New Cash Initiation Start Date

Old MA Initiation Start Date

New MA Initiation Start Date

July 5

 

90th Day = October 3

July 5

July 1

July 16

July 1

July 5

July 25

July 1

July 16

July 1

July 5

August 20

Aug 1

Aug 16

July 5

July 5

Sept 18

Sept 1

Sept 16

July 5

July 5

Oct 20

Oct 1

Oct 1

July 5

July 5

Nov 11

Oct 1

Oct 1

July 5

July 5

Feb 3

(following year)

Oct 1

Oct 1

July 5

July 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

APTD Application Date

APTD Disability Approval Date

Old Cash Initiation Start Date

New Cash Initiation Start Date

Old MA Initiation Start Date

New MA Initiation Start Date

July 19

 

90th Day = October 17

July 5

July 1

Aug 1

July 1

July 19

July 25

July 1

Aug 1

July 1

July 19

August 20

Aug 1

Aug 16

July 19

July 19

Sept 18

Sept 1

Sept 16

July 19

July 19

Oct 20

Oct 1

Oct 1

July 19

July 19

Nov 11

Oct 1

Oct 16

July 19

July 19

Feb 3

(following year)

Oct 1

Oct 16

July 19

July 19

 

NEW HEIGHTS SYSTEMS PROCEDURES AND IMPLEMENTATION

 

New HEIGHTS has aligned the initiation of SSP assistance with the policy released in this SR as of July 1, 2011. No District Office action is required to address the retroactive effective date.

 

NOTE: To ensure that SSP cash opens correctly according to the policy released in this SR and does not open prematurely, workers must do the following: New HEIGHTS uses the date that is entered into the “Auth Date” field on the “Cash Program of Assistance” screen to determine the correct cash initiation date. The “Auth Date” field automatically defaults to the application date. Do not change the date in this field until the last piece of verification, which includes the disability approval date, is submitted. At that time, and before running eligibility, workers must enter the exact date the last verification was submitted (including the disability approval date) into the “Auth Date” field. The worker can then run eligibility to open the case and SSP cash will begin according to the policies released in this SR.

 

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

 

Revised Adult Assistance Manual Topics

 

PART 119  BENEFIT DELIVERY TIME FRAMES

Section 119.01  Initiation of Medical Assistance

Section 119.03  Initiation of QMB, QDWI, SLMB, and SLMB135

 

IMPLEMENTATION

 

The policy described in this SR was implemented in New HEIGHTS for all cases beginning July 1, 2011. No District Office action is required to address the retroactive effective date.

 

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

 

No special client notification was conducted or needed.

 

TRAINING

 

This policy change was discussed at the June 9, 2011 Supervisor’s Meeting in Concord, NH. Additionally, the DFA Training Unit conducted a statewide training for Family Services Specialists (FSS) at the end of June 2011. No other special training occurred.

 

DISPOSITION

 

This SR may be destroyed or deleted after its contents have been noted and the revised manual topics released by this SR have been posted to the On-line manuals.

 

DISTRIBUTION

 

This SR will be distributed according to the electronic distribution list for Division of Family Assistance policy releases. This SR, and revised On-Line Manuals, will be available for agency staff in the On-Line Manual Library, and for public access on the Internet at www.dhhs.nh.gov/DFA/publications.htm, effective March 30, 2015. Additionally, this SR, and printed pages with posting instructions, will be distributed under separate cover to all internal hard copy holders of the Adult Assistance Manual.

 

DFA/JBV:jso