IM-180 AFFORDABLE INSURANCE QUOTES UPDATED ON FAMILY MO HEALTHNET (MAGI) APPENDIX G

FROM:  KIM EVANS, DIRECTOR

SUBJECT:  AFFORDABLE INSURANCE QUOTES UPDATED ON
FAMILY MO HEALTHNET (MAGI) APPENDIX G

MANUAL REVISION #
APPENDIX G

 

DISCUSSION:

The purpose of this memorandum is to notify staff that Appendix G has been updated with 2021 insurance quotes from the Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM).  Affordable insurance determinations for Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) premium children must still be completed with the CHIP Affordability Test Calculator (MAGI Appendix G).

NECESSARY ACTION:

  • Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.
  • Begin using the updated CHIP Calculator January 1, 2021

 

KE/df

 

IM-182 SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP) OPTION TO WAIVE REQUIREMENT TO OFFER OR GRANT FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEWS

FROM:  KIM EVANS, DIRECTOR

SUBJECT:  SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP) OPTION TO WAIVE REQUIREMENT TO OFFER OR GRANT FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEWS

DISCUSSION:

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has approved Missouri’s Statewide SNAP Interview option effective December 28, 2020 through June 30, 2021.  This option allows temporary changes to the SNAP in order to help keep Missourians safe and healthy during the COVID-19 health crisis.

Changes to 7 C.F.R. 273.2 (e)(2)(i) are as follows:

  • Family Support Division (FSD) is not required to offer or grant a request for a face-to-face interview to any household at application or recertification.

Staff are not required to offer or grant a face-to-face interview to any household that requests to complete their SNAP interview in person for any application. Staff can waive the requirement to conduct a face-to-face interview on all SNAP applications initial, recertification or expedited.

When there is a request for a face-to-face interview, staff should inform the participant that Missouri is currently waiving all face-to-face interviews due to the COVID-19 health crisis.  The waiving of the requested interview must be captured in the FAMIS system on the FSINTRVW (FM1B) screen, by entering the COVID19 Waived Interview code pairing type and method.

Note:  It is important to make a comment referencing COVID-19 on each case when a face-to-face interview is requested, but is waived with the option.

System changes have been made to the FSINTRVW (FM1B) screen as shown in the screenshots below.

Note:  Staff must enter “Y” in the “Do you need to schedule an interview?” field and choose the COVID-19 codes shown below to allow FSD to track waived interview cases for federal reporting requirements. Do not enter N, all requested face-to-face interviews must be waived due to COVID-19.

As shown below, select face-to-face (FTF) in the drop-down menu for “Type of Interview Completed”.

For the “Interview Completion Method” field, enter Face To Face Waived COVID-19 (F2FW).

 

NECESSARY ACTION:

  • Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.

 

KE/gb/am/ks

IM-181 COVID-19 NINTH EXTENSION OF PANDEMIC SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (P-SNAP) EMERGENCY ALLOTMENTS

FROM:  KIM EVANS, DIRECTOR

SUBJECT:  COVID-19 NINTH EXTENSION OF PANDEMIC SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (P-SNAP) EMERGENCY ALLOTMENTS

 

DISCUSSION:

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) allows for Emergency Allotments (EA) of supplemental benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/Food Stamps) to be issued to eligible SNAP households.  The P-SNAP program raises a household’s SNAP allotment to the maximum amount for the household size. 

Supplemental benefits have been issued by the Family Support Division (FSD) in March through December 2020 as part of the P-SNAP program.  P-SNAP has been extended through January 2021.  Beyond January 2021, participation in P-SNAP will be decided on a month to month basis during the COVID-19 health crisis.

SNAP households do not need to apply for P-SNAP.  The supplemental benefit will be automatically added to the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card.

Note:  Households that already receive the maximum allotment for their household size will not have a benefit increase.

NECESSARY ACTION:

  • Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.

KE/ks

IM-178 CLARIFICATION AND CHANGES TO 5% DISREGARD FOR FAMILY MO HEALTHNET (MAGI)

FROM:  KIM EVANS, DIRECTOR

SUBJECT:  CLARIFICATION AND CHANGES TO 5% DISREGARD FOR FAMILY MO HEALTHNET (MAGI)

MANUAL REVISION # 178
1805.030.20.20.05
Appendix A
Appendix B

 

DISCUSSION:

The purpose of this memorandum is to advise staff of changes to the 5% disregard income calculation for Family MO HealthNet (MAGI) eligibility determinations. 

Due to receiving a Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) finding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as well as clarification from the Division of Legal Services (DLS), the Missouri Eligibility Determination and Enrollment System (MEDES) has been updated to no longer add a 5% disregard at every eligibility level.  Instead, the 5% disregard will only be applied when the disregard means the difference between being eligible for MO HealthNet or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and being ineligible.

The 5% disregard will still apply to the highest MO HealthNet level for each level of Medicaid (non-CHIP coverage) and CHIP (including Show-Me Healthy Babies), as well as MO HealthNet for Pregnant Women (MPW) and Uninsured Women’s Health Services (UWHS).  Participants will first have an eligibility determination without the 5% disregard.  If found ineligible at either the highest Medicaid or highest CHIP level, the 5% disregard will be added and a new eligibility determination run before moving to the next level of care (if another level of care exists for the participant).

NOTE: The 5% disregard will still apply to MO HealthNet for Families (MHF) Adult as it is the highest level for adults but will no longer be applied to MHF Child as it is not the highest Medicaid (non-CHIP) level for children.  Due to this change, it is possible that a household could have a child/children eligible for MHK while the adult(s) is eligible for MHF Adult.

NOTE: The 5% disregard will still apply to MO HealthNet for Kids (MHK) as it is the highest Medicaid (non-CHIP) level for children but will no longer be applied to CHIP 71 & CHIP 72 as it is not the highest CHIP level for children.  Due to this change, the MHK income level is now higher than the CHIP 71 & CHIP 72 level, placing no one under CHIP 71 & CHIP 72.

EXAMPLE: Please see policy section 1805.030.20.20.05 for examples.

The MEDES system was updated November 22, 2020 to reflect these changes.

NOTE: As MEDES runs the updated eligibility determinations for past active periods, eligibility will appear to negatively change on the Product Delivery Case; however, benefits on the Integrated Case and downstream will not change and no adverse action will be triggered.  If the current coverage is determined to change due to the 5% updates, an adverse action will be triggered.

Appendices A and B have been updated to reflect the updated income guidelines.

NECESSARY ACTION:

  • Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.

 

KE/al

 

IM-177 SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP) OPTION TO WAIVE INTERVIEW REQUIREMENT AT RECERTIFICATION

FROM:  KIM EVANS, DIRECTOR

SUBJECT:  SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP) OPTION TO WAIVE INTERVIEW REQUIREMENT AT RECERTIFICATION

 

DISCUSSION:

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has approved Missouri’s Statewide SNAP Interview option effective December 28, 2020 through June 30, 2021

This option allows the Family Support Division (FSD) to waive the interview requirement for all recertification applications. This temporary change to SNAP allows FSD staff to complete a recertification application (Timely, Non-Timely and Late Non-Timely) without an interview prior to approval as long as identity has been verified and all other mandatory verifications in 7 C.F.R 273.2 (f)(1) have been completed.

Late non-timely applications that screen Yes (Y) for expedited benefits can be waived, provided identity has been verified and an attempt has been made to contact the household for an interview.

This option allows changes to: 7 C.F.R 273.2(a)(2), 273.2(e), and 273.14 (b)(3) which requires that the state agency require a household to complete an interview prior to approval.

System updates were made to the FSINTRVW (FM1B) screen.  Screenshots are provided below.

Eligibility system updates to suppress the Appointment Letter (FA-334) and Notice of Missed Appointment Letter (FA-335) were made for timely and non-timely recertification applications. Late non-timely recertification applications will have the FA-334 and FA-335 suppressed when No (N) is entered in the Screened Expedited Eligible field.

If a Y is entered in the Screened Expedited Eligible field, the FA-334 and FA-335 will be sent to the household, the application will go through the Predictive Dialer (PD) for contact attempt to complete the interview.

Note:  Staff must enter a Y in the “Do you need to schedule an interview?” field when registering a recertification application.  Do not enter N; all recertification applications must be waived due to COVID-19.

Note:  It is important to make a comment referencing COVID-19 on each recertification application when an interview is waived with the COVID-19 code pairing type and method.

NECESSARY ACTION:

  • Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.

 

KE/am/gb/ks

 

IM-170 COVID-19 VERIFICATION FOR FAMILY HEALTHCARE PROGRAMS (MAGI) UPDATE AND CLARIFICATION

FROM:  KIM EVANS, DIRECTOR

SUBJECT:  COVID-19 VERIFICATION FOR FAMILY HEALTHCARE PROGRAMS (MAGI) UPDATE AND CLARIFICATION

DISCUSSION:

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide clarification to Memo IM-19 COVID-19 Verifications for Family Healthcare Programs (MAGI).  IM-19 introduced temporary policy to allow Family Support Division (FSD) to waive many eligibility verification requirements for MAGI programs during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE.)

For the duration of the PHE, applications can be rejected for various reasons, but active cases can only be closed in certain circumstances.  Cases on which a Request for Information (IM-31A) is sent, but no response is received, will require review after the PHE ends. For this reason, send IM-31As as a last resort.  Utilize all available resources. This includes but is not limited to, IMES, IIVE, and/or FAMIS and use sound judgement before attempting contact with the participant. 

For more information about contacting participants, see the updated MEDES COVID-19 Self-Attestation Guide.

Resume Reasonable Compatibility

Per clarification from the Division of Legal Services, resume use of Reasonable Compatibility (RC) procedures to attempt to confirm self-attested income.

  • If electronically obtained information (EOI) is RC with self-attested income, verify the evidence with RC.
  • If EOI is not RC with self-attested income, but the EOI does not clearly contradict self-attested income, verify the income as self-attested. See the MEDES COVID-19 Self-Attestation Guide for examples.
    • Enter a comment to describe the self-attested income and electronic data. Include in the comment “self-attestation accepted due to special circumstances.  42 CFR 435.952(c)(3).”
  • If EOI is not RC with self-attested income and clearly contradicts self-attested income, contact the participant. See the MEDES COVID-19 Self-attestation Guide for examples.

Included Income Types

 The participant must provide enough information about the income to determine an income amount in order for the income to be considered self-attested.  If income cannot be considered self-attested, contact the participant.

EXAMPLE:  Marcy is processing a change report on which the participant claimed a job at Wal-Mart making $12.75 per hour. The participant didn’t list weekly hours or a gross amount and pay frequency.  Marcy cannot determine self-attested income with this information.

Excluded Income Types

Do not send an IM-31A to request clarification of an excluded/non-countable income type.  If a current amount can be found on an available resource (such as IIVE for SSI or INTRFACE for child support) enter the amount found on the available resource.  Add a note to explain where the information was obtained and what, if anything, the participant reported about the income.

File IMES, IIVE, or other resources in the electronic case record, as directed by policy.

Tax Filing Status

Continue to accept self-attestation of tax filing status.  If tax filing status is not declared for a participant, contact the participant for more information.        

 Reasonable Opportunity

 Follow normal procedures to allow a reasonable opportunity period except: 

  • Accept self-attestation of a pending SSN application for participants eligible to receive a reasonable opportunity period.
  • Accept self-attestation of application for a birth certificate for participants eligible to receive a reasonable opportunity period.
  • See the MEDES COVID-19 Self-attestation Guide for more information.

NECESSARY ACTION:

  • Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.
  • Review the updated MEDES COVID-19 Self-attestation Guide.
  • Exhaust all available resources for verification before attempting contact with a participant.
  • Attempt phone contact before sending an IM-31A.

 

KE/ers/al/ams/kg

IM-157 REVISION OF THE IM-31A PQ MAGI

FROM:  KIM EVANS, DIRECTOR

SUBJECT:  REVISION OF THE IM-31A PQ MAGI
FORM REVISION #
IM-31A PQ MAGI

DISCUSSION:

The purpose of this memo is to introduce changes to the IM-31A PQ MAGI form.  This form is used to request prior quarter information that may not have been captured on the IM-1SSL application form.  The new version of the form includes fillable fields and formatting changes. 

 

NECESSARY ACTION:

  • Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.
  • Refer to IM-24 from 3/5/2018, for information on use of the IM-31A PQ MAGI form.

 

KE/ers

IM-156 SUPPLEMENTAL NURSING CARE (SNC) MANUAL CORRECTION

FROM:  KIM EVANS, DIRECTOR

SUBJECT:  SUPPLEMENTAL NURSING CARE (SNC) MANUAL CORRECTION
MANUAL REVISION #
0605.010.00

DISCUSSION:

The SNC manual section was missing instructions that clarified the actions necessary when an individual is found ineligible for SNC. Instructions have been added to section 0605.010.00 No change in process is necessary for staff.  FAMIS is programmed to explore eligibility for the additional programs as required.

NECESSARY ACTION:

  • Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.

 

KE/vb

IM-150 CORRECTION OF LINK IN THE BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER TREATMENT MANUAL

FROM: KIM EVANS, DIRECTOR

SUBJECT: CORRECTION OF LINK IN THE BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER TREATMENT MANUAL

MANUAL REVISION #
1305.025.05 

DISCUSSION:

The purpose of this memo is to correct a link in the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment manual. The link to a map of Show Me Healthy Women providers is found at: https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/chronic/showmehealthywomen/providermap.php

NECESSARY ACTION:

  • Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.

 

KE/df

IM-149 REVISION OF MAGI HOUSEHOLD COMPOSTION FOR TAX FILERS SECTION IN THE MO HEALTHNET FOR FAMILIES (MAGI) MANUAL

FROM:  KIM EVANS, DIRECTOR

SUBJECT:  REVISION OF MAGI HOUSEHOLD COMPOSTION FOR TAX FILERS SECTION IN THE MO HEALTHNET FOR FAMILIES (MAGI) MANUAL

MANUAL REVISION #
1805.030.10.10

DISCUSSION:

Section 1805.030.10.10 MAGI Household Composition for Tax Filers is updated to clarify separated individuals do not count in one another’s MAGI household.

NECESSARY ACTION:

  • Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.

 

KE/ers