The Disability Commission met tonight and was made aware of this proposed regulation change. It affects any person who receives CommonHealth or Masshealth medical insurance.
The Disability Commission requests that everyone examine this and contact the Commissioner of the Division of Medical Assistance to strike this divisive regulation change. Thank You, Brian H. Sherman Co Vice-Chair Town of Framingham Disability Commission >From an e-mail alert sent by Bill Henning- Asset requirement for CommonHealth: "If you want to save to buy a new van or for your child's education or for almost anything else, forget it, if you want to stay on CommonHealth and keep working." These regulations would impose an asset limitation for MassHealth on everyone over age 18 including the CommonHealth working program for the first time. The limits proposed are $12,000 for CommonHealth working adults, $3,000 for Masshealth Basic and $6,000 for everyone else. (Nancy Lorenz's e-mail) WE NEED TO SAY NO TO THIS ASSET LIMITATION! Comments are due July 25! Please send your comments to: Commissioner Division of Medical Assistance 600 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02111 http://www.state.ma.us/sec/spr/sprpub/071803c.pdf Proposed regulation changes: MASSHEALTH COVERAGE TYPES- 506.013: Countable Assets Countable assets are all assets described in 130 CMR 506.013 that must be included in the determination of eligibility. The family group countable assets only affect the eligibility of the adult applicants or members. Although the assets of the family group must be counted, the family group dependents under the age of 19 are not subject to the asset test. The family group must verify the value of their countable assets. (A) Cash. (1) Definition. Cash is defined as currency, checks, and bank drafts in the possession of or available to the family group. (2) Verification. Countable cash is verified by self-declaration on the application or review form, or other signed statement of the available amount. (B) Bank Accounts. (1) Definition. Bank accounts are defined as deposits in a bank, savings and loan institution, or other financial institutional. Bank accounts may be in the form of savings, checking, bank accounts which are Totten trusts, term certificates, mutual funds or other types of accounts. (2) Determination of Ownership and Accessibility. The Division considers funds in a bank account available in its entirety to the family group. (3) Verification of Account Balances. (a) The Division requires verification of the current balance of each account at application, during an eligibility review, at times of reported change, and at times that the Division requests verification pursuant to information received from other state and federal agencies. (b) The family group must verify the amount on deposit by bank books or statements that show the bank balance no earlier than 45 days prior to the date of application or the date the eligibility review form is received in a MassHealth Enrollment Center, or the date the verification is requested by the Division. (C) Annuities. (1) Definition. Payments from an annuity are countable income in accordance with 506.003(B)(2). If an annuity can be converted to a lump sum, the lump sum, less any penalties or costs of converting to a lump sum, is a countable asset. (2) Verifications. The family group must provide a copy of the terms of the agreement of the annuity, the value of the annuity and what penalties or costs of converting to a lump sum by submitting a statement from the issuing company. (D) Securities. (1) Definition. Securities include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, including money-market mutual funds, and savings bonds. (2) Determination of Ownership and Accessibility. The Division considers securities available in accordance with 130 CMR 506.016. (3) Verifications. The family group must submit a statement from a financial institution or broker to verify the current value of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Copies of all savings bonds must also be submitted. (E) Cash Surrender Value of Life Insurance Policies. (1) Definition. The cash surrender value of a life insurance policy is the amount of money, if any, the issuing insurance company has agreed to pay the owner of the policy upon its cancellation. If the total face value of all countable life insurance policies owned by the family group exceeds $1500, the total cash-surrender value of all non-exempt policies held by the family group is countable. The Division does not count the face value of burial insurance and the face value of term life insurance policies. (2) Verification. The family group must submit copies of all life insurance policies showing the face value, the type of life insurance, and a statement from the issuing insurance company verifying the face value and current cash surrender value. (F) Vehicles. (1) Requirements. In determining the assets of a family group, the countability of Vehicles is determined as follows: (a) One vehicle per family group is non-countable regardless of its value. (b) If the family group has more than one vehicle, a second vehicle is non-countable if the vehicle is used for transportation to and from employment, if there is more than one adult in the family group that is employed. All other non-business vehicles are countable assets. (c) Vehicles used solely for business purposes are excluded as countable assets. Under this provision, an activity is considered a business if the activity produces gross earned income as defined under 130 CMR 506.003(A)(2) or (C), without including any depreciation deductions taken on the United States federal tax return. (d) All vehicles owned by the family group that are used primarily for recreational purposes such as snowmobiles, boats, planes, trailers, jeeps, vans, and motorcycles are countable assets. (2) Verifications. The family group must verify the fair market value and equity value of all vehicles. Acceptable verification, includes, but are not limited to: (a) the wholesale value (for cars and trucks) and the finance value(for recreational vehicles) tables in the most recent valuation book that is used by the Division; (b) the low value in an older car valuation book(for cars and trucks). If the car or truck is too old to be listed in an older car evaluation book, the Division will assign a value of $250 for each countable vehicle; (c) the written appraisal of a licensed automobile dealer who deals with classic, custom-made, or antique vehicles, if the vehicle is considered classic, custom-made, or antique; or (d) the projected loan value of a recreational vehicle as quoted by a bank or other lending institution; documents showing the value for insurance purposes, or a written estimate of the cash value of a vehicle from a licensed recreational-vehicle dealer. (3) Specially Equipped Vehicles. Special equipment for the handicapped, other optional equipment, or low mileage do not increase the value of the vehicle. (G) Real Estate Other Than the Principal Place of Residence. (1) Requirements. All real estate owned by the family group, with the exception of the principal place of residence and business property, is a countable asset. Under this provision, business real property is real property that produces gross earned income as defined under 130 CMR 506.003(A)(2) or (C), without including any depreciation deductions taken on the United States federal tax return. (2) Jointly-Owned Real Estate. Jointly-owned real estate with an individual not in the family group and not living with the family group is considered owned in equal shares (3) Nine-Month Exemption. The value of real estate, other than the principal place of residence and income-producing business property, is exempt for nine calendar months after the date of notice by the Division, provided the individual signs an agreement with the Division within 60 days after the date of notice to dispose of the property at fair market value. After the nine-month period, the Division will count the fair market value of the real estate. The Division will extend the nine-month period as long as the family group continues to make a good faith effort to sell the property. (4) Good Faith Effort to Sell Real Estate. The family group must verify his or her good-faith effort to dispose of countable real estate by evidence such as advertisements or documentation of the listing of the real estate with licensed real-estate agents or brokers, including a report of any offer from prospective buyers. The Division will terminate eligibility if, at any time, the family group rejects a reasonable offer to buy the real estate. An offer to buy real estate is considered reasonable if it is at least two-thirds of the fair-market value, unless the family group proves otherwise to the Division's satisfaction. (5) Verification. The family group must verify the fair market value and equity value of all real estate, with the exception of the principal place of residence and income-producing business property by submitting one of the following: (a) a copy of the most recent tax bill; (b) the property tax assessment that was most recently issued by the taxing jurisdiction; (c) a signed statement from a licensed real estate agency if (a) or (b) above is not available; or (d) a copy of the deed if the applicant or member is claiming joint ownership 506.014: Non-Countable Assets Non-countable assets are those assets exempt from consideration when determining the total value of assets of the family group. The following are non- countable: (A) Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), Keogh plans, and pension funds; (B) trusts, except bank accounts that are Totten trusts; (C) funeral or burial arrangements, including: (1) any burial space, including any burial space for any immediate family member; (2) burial accounts up to $1500 for each family member; and (3) any irrevocable burial trusts and contracts; (D) certain vehicles, specifically: (1) one non-recreational vehicle; (2) a second non-recreational vehicle used for transportation to and from employment, if there is more than one adult employed in the family group; and (3) vehicles used solely for business purposes; (E) real estate (including a mobile home) if used as the principal place of residence; (F) business real property that produces gross earned income as defined under 130 CMR 506.003(A)(2) or (C), without including any depreciation deductions taken on the United States federal tax return; (G) the face and any cash-surrender value of burial and term insurance policy; and (H) any other assets that would be excluded for Title XIX eligibility purposes or that are excluded by federal laws other than the Social Security Act. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DIVISION OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE NOTICE OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT OF REGULATIONS The Division proposes to amend its regulations under the authority of M.G.L. c. 118E, ss. 7 and 12 and pursuant to M.G.L. c. 30A, s. 3. The Division describes the substance of the proposed actions as amendments to regulations found at 1. 130 CMR 505.000: Health Care Reform: MassHealth: Coverage Types; and 130 CMR 506.000: Health Care Reform: MassHealth: Financial Requirements. The proposed amendments establish asset limits for MassHealth health-care reform applicants and members. 2. 130 CMR 520.000: Health Care Reform: MassHealth: Financial Eligibility. The proposed amendments will affect the source of the income to meet the minimum-monthly-maintenance needs allowance (MMMNA) of the community spouse of an institutionalized member. There is also a revision in the regulations concerning the application of court-ordered spousal support to the spousal-maintenance-needs deduction. It is anticipated that these amendments will not go into effect before September 1, 2003. 3. 130 CMR 520.000: MassHealth: Financial Eligibility. These revised regulations contain the annual increase to the federal standard maintenance allowance from $1,493 to $1,515, and the standard shelter expense from $448 to $455. These revised regulations also contain a change to the spousal asset regulations to comply with federal law at 42 U.S.C. 1396r-5(f). These regulations went into effect July 1, 2003, as emergency regulations. All persons desiring to submit data, views, or arguments concerning these proposed actions may file the same with the Commissioner, Division of Medical Assistance, 600 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, on or before July 25, 2003. All persons desiring to review the current draft of the proposed actions may request a copy in writing or in person from the Publications Unit, Division of Medical Assistance, 600 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111. The Division may adopt a revised version of the proposed actions taking into account relevant comments and any other practical alternatives that come to the Division's attention. By Order of the Division of Medical Assistance DOUGLAS S. BROWN, ACTING COMMISSIONER July 4, 2003 -- "We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is right to do what is right" Nelson Mandela Paul W. Spooner MetroWest Center for Independent Living, Inc. 280 Irving Street Framingham, MA 01702 508-875-7853 V/TTY 508-875-8359 FAX E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web Site: www.mwcil.org To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with body "unsubscribe frambors" (the subject is ignored).
