SR 99-09 Dated 03/99

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR releases policy clarifications related to eligibility for financial or medical assistance for individuals residing in institutions. Specifically, this SR clarifies that certain individuals 65 years of age and older and who are in-patients at the Acute Psychiatric Services (APS) Unit at New Hampshire Hospital, may be eligible for medical assistance as a resident of a Designated Receiving Facility. This policy was released via memo in 1996 and is now being incorporated into the Family Assistance and Adult Assistance manuals.

This SR also releases technical corrections to Parts 307 of the Family Assistance Manual (FAM) and Adult Assistance Manual (AAM) to update terminology, remove obsolete references, and reorganize text to make the discussion of policy consistent between the two Manuals.

In addition, this SR releases clarifying and organizational changes to FAM and AAM 700. Parts 701 and 705 of the AAM and FAM, respectively, have been revised and reorganized to more clearly reflect the language contained in rules at He-W 699.04, Deceased Recipients. To that end, in addition to revised wording in the existing manual topics, a new Section 701.01, Outstanding Expenses Covered by Last Payment, has been added to the AAM. With these changes, FAM and AAM policy related to the disposition of financial assistance payments made to deceased recipients is more accurate, and is displayed in a consistent organizational scheme.

Clarifications to Medical Assistance Policy for Institutions

Policy has been clarified to indicate that individuals age 65 years or older who are certified for care at the APS, in addition to individuals under age 22 who are certified for care at APS or the the Anna Philbrook Center, may be eligible TANF or adult category financial or medical assistance as residents of a Designated Receiving Facility. Although this has been policy for several years, the Adult Assistance Manual (AAM) and the Family Assistance Manual (FAM) had not been updated to clearly state the policy.

The following related clarifications and technical corrections to FAM and AAM 300 are released in this SR:

 Sections 307.03 of the FAM and 307.01 of the AAM were revised to reconcile inconsistencies between the two manuals in discussion of eligibility for individuals in Designated Receiving Facilities. Text on the determination of eligibility based on length of hospitalization, currently in AAM 307.01, Individuals in Designated Receiving Facilities, has been added to FAM 307.03, Medical Assistance: Designated Receiving Facilities.

 References to the "medical/surgical unit of the NH State Hospital" were removed from both manuals, as this unit no longer exists.

 Reference in AAM 307 to the "Intermediate Care Facility Unit for Mental Disease (ICF/MD)," also known as the Thayer Building, was removed as this unit is being dissolved and the individuals residing therein moved to other units of the NH Hospital.

 A reference has been added to AAM 307 indicating clients residing at Glencliff Home may be eligible for medical assistance as residents of a nursing facility.

 Policy has been added allowing financial or medical assistance to individuals admitted to NH Hospital, including the Anna Philbrook Center, for purposes of evaluation only, for a period not to exceed 3 months. This has been Department policy for many years, but was not transferred from the older Public Assistance Manual (PAM) to the appropriate Parts of the FAM and AAM when these manuals were created in 1994.

 Terminology reflecting new organizational units with the Department has been updated in FAM Sections 307.07 and 307.09.

 FAM 307.01 and AAM 307 have been rewritten and reorganized to more clearly distinguish among those clients potentially eligible for financial and medical assistance, and those eligible for medical assistance only. These distinctions were obscured when these policies were transferred in 1994 from the PAM ITEM 134 to FAM and AAM Parts 307.

Clarifications to Policy on Deceased Recipients of Financial Assistance

Policy clarifications and formatting changes have been made to FAM 705 and AAM 701, which contain policy related to financial assistance payments issued to deceased recipients, in order to be consistent with the language in rules at He-W 699.04, Deceased Recipients. Revised policy more clearly states that a request must be made that assistance payments be returned to the Division when they are the unspent portion of previously issued benefits remaining in the EBT cash account at the time of death or were deposited to a deceased recipient’s personal account through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Clarified policy also details to whom the request for return of payment is to be made.

In addition, FAM and AAM Parts 705 and 701, respectively, have been made consistent in wording and organization, including the creation of a new AAM Section 701.01, Outstanding Expenses Covered by Last Payment, to mirror the structure of this Part in FAM. This reorganization was done to facilitate the policy search function across manuals.

PROCEDURES

No new procedures are being released by this SR.

IMPLEMENTATION

The revisions to the FAM and AAM clarify existing policy.

DISPOSITION

This SR may be destroyed or deleted after its contents have been noted.

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 http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us, effective March, 1999.

This SR, and printed pages with posting instructions, will be distributed under separate cover to all hard copy holders of the Family Assistance and Adult Assistance Manuals.

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