2-009.11 Reduction of Resources

469 NAC 2-009.11

The client may reduce available resources to the allowable limit if the case record contains documentation that the resources have been reduced and the unit is within the allowable resource limits. An application for an individual who has excess resources other than real property may be held pending until the resources are reduced. For treatment of real property which causes the client to have excess resources see 469 NAC 2-009.07B4 ff.

The client may reduce his/her resources by paying any secured or unsecured debts, purchasing personal property, establishing burial funds, or expending the resources in any manner that the client deems appropriate. If the client is in a medical institution or receiving waiver services, s/he cannot give away resources in order to establish medical assistance eligibility per 469 NAC 2-009.10. If the client is not in a medical institution or receiving waiver services, giving away the excess resources is not considered a deprivation of a resource. If the client reduces resources in any way except paying on outstanding medical bills, eligibility is effective the first day of the month in which the resources are actually expended if all other eligibility factors are met. The client's statement of expenditures is acceptable.

The client may do a resource spenddown to establish an earlier medical effective date if s/he has outstanding medical bills. However, medical eligibility may not begin earlier than the third month before the request for assistance (see 469 NAC 4-003). In order for a client with excess resources to establish an earlier medical effective date, s/he must pay all of the excess resources on medical bills incurred no earlier than the third month before the month of request. The medical expense does not have to be a Medicaid covered service. The client should pay on the oldest medical bills incurred within the retroactive period and continue paying bills until the amount of the excess resources has been expended. Medical eligibility may begin with the first day of the month in which the last medical bill was paid which reduced the resources to the allowable limit. The worker must verify expenditures for medical bills.

If the client has excess resources in the month of application it is not necessary to verify resources in any of the retroactive months. The resource spenddown of the excess resources from the month of application is all that is necessary. If the client does not have excess resources in the month of application, the worker must verify resources in the oldest retroactive month in which the client has outstanding medical bills. If there are excess resources during this retroactive month, the worker must use only this amount of excess resources to complete the resource spenddown.

See 469-000-319 for procedures related to documenting a resource spenddown.

Since clients are not eligible until the month the Agreement to Sell Real Property is signed, when real property sells, medical may be backdated to the first retro month if the entire net proceeds from the sale are applied to unpaid out of pocket medical bills. For example, property sells for $60,000 and there are unpaid medical bills of $100,000 in the oldest retro month prior to the application.