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Probate & Trust Law Section Conference Manual ... - Minnesota CLE

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called "MA for Adults Without Children." 37<br />

Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program.<br />

This program replaced the General<br />

B. Persons eligible for expanded medical assistance must have income at or below<br />

75% of federal poverty guidelines (currently $699 per month for a household of<br />

one). There is no asset limit for the new program and no look-back period. The<br />

new program is funded largely at federal expense.<br />

C. This program is not available to persons who might be eligible for other medical<br />

assistance programs.<br />

XIII. THE COMMUNITY SPOUSE SUPPORT OBLIGATION<br />

<strong>Law</strong>s 2011, 1 st Spec. Sess., Ch. 9, Art. 3, Sec. 5, amending Minn. Stat. § 256B.14, by<br />

adding a subdivision 3a.<br />

A. TREATMENT OF COMMUNITY SPOUSE INCOME UNDER FEDERAL<br />

LAW.<br />

Under federal law, none of the community spouse’s income is treated as available<br />

to the medical assistance spouse in determining the medical assistance spouse’s<br />

income obligation towards LTC benefits. 42 U.S.C. 1396r-5(b)(1).<br />

B. STATE ATTEMPT TO CIRCUMVENT FEDERAL LAW<br />

1. This new statute was a blatant attempt to force a support obligation on a<br />

medical assistance recipient’s spouse, even though none of the community<br />

spouse’s income was counted against medical assistance eligibility. It<br />

would have required a community spouse with income in excess of the<br />

maximum monthly income allowance protected by the Community Spouse<br />

Income Allowance (which currently ranges from $1,892 per month<br />

minimum, to a maximum of $2,898 per month, depending on shelter<br />

expenses), to contribute income, measured in four brackets, toward the<br />

support of the medical assistance spouse. The amount of support was to be<br />

calculated on a sliding scale, ranging from 7.5% to 33% of the excess,<br />

depending on the community spouse’s monthly income (hereafter “the<br />

CSSO”).<br />

2. DHS opposed this proposal because the fiscal note showed that calculating<br />

37 Bulletin No. 11-21-02, which explains this program in full, is available at:<br />

http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/groups/publications/documents/pub/dhs16_158479.pdf.<br />

37

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