SR 18-03 Dated 06/18

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION – DIVISION OF ECONOMIC AND HOUSING STABILITY (DEHS)

FROM OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, DEHS:		Mark Jewell
DEHS SIGNATURE DATE:		June 4, 2018
FROM OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, OMBP:		Henry Lipman
OMBP SIGNATURE DATE:		June 14, 2018
AT (OFFICE):		Division of Economic and Housing Stability (DEHS)
TO:		District Office Supervisors
SUBJECT:	Treatment of Combat Pay in SNAP and TANF Households
SNAP RETROACTIVE EFFECTIVE DATE: MEDICAID AND TANF EFFECTIVE DATE:	May 8, 2017 June 29, 2018

SUMMARY

This SR releases new policy to exclude combat pay when determining Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps, eligibility. This mandated policy change supplements policy released in the Director’s Memo dated February 15, 2018, titled Military Combat Pay Exclusion. TANF policy has been updated to reflect the same policy change when determining eligibility for FANF cash assistance. This SR also releases clarification to Medicaid policy regarding the taxability of certain veterans’ benefits.

POLICY

Policy regarding treatment of combat pay when determining eligibility for SNAP and FANF has been revised as follows:

Income received by a member of the military who is currently absent from the household.

Treatment: Only the amount that is actually available to the household is counted as Unearned Income.

Combat Pay Exclusion – any increase to the active duty military member’s income that he/she receives as a result of service in direct support of a combat zone is excluded. If the individual is in the Guard/Reserve, all income while serving in direct support of a combat zone is excluded.

Example 1: A household receives $100 in military pay per month, regardless of whether the active duty military member is included in or absent from the household. Then the military member performs service in direct support of a combat zone and the household receives $1,000 in military pay per month. The countable income is still $100, but the additional $900 is excluded.

Example 2: A household receives $100 in military pay per month, regardless of whether the Guard/Reserve military member is included in or absent from the household. Then, the military member performs service in direct support of a combat zone and the household receives $1,000 in military pay per month. All income is excluded.

For households that receive income from a military member who receives combat pay, treat the income up to the amount the military member receives in combat pay as combat pay. Any income a household receives from a military member that is greater than the amount the military member receives in combat pay should be counted as unearned income.

Example 3: A household receives $500 per month from a military member. The household verifies that the military member receives $250 per month in combat pay. Exclude $250 of the income the household receives as combat pay and treat the remaining $250 as unearned income.

Example 4: A household receives $500 per month from a military member. The household verifies that the military member receives $1,000 per month in combat pay. Exclude the $500 of income as combat pay.

The amount of income that will be excluded as combat pay on an active duty military member’s pay stub will be identifiable by comparing the pay stub reflecting pay immediately prior to service in direct support of a combat zone to the pay stub while serving in direct support of a combat zone.

Self-attestation of a household member that a military member is deployed to or performing service in direct support of a combat zone shall be sufficient for verification purposes regarding such service. However, the amount of combat pay must be verified. A military member’s pay may be verified using their Leave and Earnings Statement (LES). Compare the military member’s LES prior to deployment with their LES after deployment to determine the amount that would be excluded as “Combat Pay.”

This SR supplements the policy released in the Director’s Memo dated February 15, 2018, titled Military Combat Pay Exclusion.

In addition, at the request of the Medicaid Policy Administrator, the Medical Assistance Manual Part 511 has been revised to include some examples of veterans’ benefits that are non-taxable:

●	Education, training, and subsistence allowances;
●	Disability compensation and pension payments for disabilities paid to veterans or their families;
●	Grants for homes designed for wheelchair living;
●	Grants for motor vehicles for veterans with limited vision or limited use of their limbs;
●	Veterans’ insurance proceeds paid to veterans or their beneficiaries;
●	Interest on insurance dividends left on deposit with the VA;
●	Benefits under a dependent-care assistance program;
●	Death gratuity paid to a survivor of a member of the Armed Forces who died after September 10, 2001;
●	Payments made under the compensated work therapy program; and
●	Bonus payments by a state or political subdivision due to service in a combat zone.

The Medical Assistance Manual Part 513 has also been updated to clarify that combat pay is treated as excluded income for the MAGI categories of Medicaid, as the IRS excludes combat pay from income for tax purposes.

NEW HEIGHTS & NH EASY SYSTEMS PROCEDURES AND IMPLEMENTATION

New HEIGHTS Screen Changes

Effective June 29 2018, New HEIGHTS will add “Combat Pay” as a new “Type” on the “Earned Income” screen for SSP and Non-MAGI. Combat pay will be treated and counted as “Earned Income” for SSP and Non-MAGI. FS, FANF, and MAGI will exclude combat pay.

When an Assistance Group reports having income that includes combat pay, the income from the military must be separated in to “Regular Employment” income and “Combat Pay.” The amount to be entered as combat pay will be determined by comparing the service member’s leave and earnings statement (LES) immediately before deployment with the LES after deployment. The income amount the service member received before deployment must be entered as “Regular Employment.” The increase in the amount of income after deployment must be entered as “Combat Pay.”

Example 5: If an assistance group reports having income from a service member and presents a pre-deployment LES of $600 per month and post-deployment LES of $800 per month, $600 per month should be entered as “Regular Employment” and $200 should be entered as “Combat Pay.”

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Revised Food Stamp Manual Topics

PART 513 LESS COMMON TYPES OF INCOME: MILITARY PAY AND ALLOWANCES

Revised Family Assistance Manual Topics

PART 513 LESS COMMON TYPES OF INCOME: MILITARY PAY AND ALLOWANCES

Revised Medical Assistance Manual Topics

PART 511 COMMON TYPES OF INCOME: VA BENEFITS

PART 513 LESS COMMON TYPES OF INCOME: MILITARY PAY AND ALLOWANCES

IMPLEMENTATION

SNAP policy released in this SR is retroactively effective to May 8, 2017. TANF and Medicaid policies released in this SR are effective June 29, 2018.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

Notification of the rule change was published in the New Hampshire Rulemaking Register, Office of Legislative Services, on April 5, 2018. A public hearing on amended Administrative Rule He-W 654.04 was held on May 8, 2018.

No additional client notification is planned or needed.

TRAINING

No special training is planned or needed.

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 BFA 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, June 25, 2018. Additionally, this SR, and printed pages with posting instructions, will be distributed under separate cover to all internal hard copy holders of the Food Stamp, Family Assistance, and Medical Assistance Manuals.

BFA/SVW:s