FROM: REGINALD E. McELHANNON, INTERIM DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: 2020 INCREASE IN SUBSTANTIAL GAINFUL ACTIVITY (SGA)
MANUAL REVISION #125
The Social Security Administration announced an increase to the SGA amount.
Effective January 1, 2020, the monthly SGA amount for:
The Income Maintenance (IM) policy manual section: Appendix D has been updated to reflect this change.
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FROM: REGINALD E. McELHANNON, INTERIM DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: ADDITION OF LEGAL BASIS FOR MAGI APPLICATION WITH NO SIGNATURE AND ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE
MANUAL REVISION #124
The purpose of this memorandum is to introduce the addition of Legal Basis information in the following sections:
The additions are State regulations that establish guidelines for the aforementioned sections.
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FROM: REGINALD E. McELHANNON, INTERIM DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: FAMILY HEALTHCARE MAGI Income Evidence for Self-Employment
MANUAL REVISION #123
The purpose of this memorandum is to introduce a new section in the Family Healthcare manual Income Evidence sub-chapter regarding Self-Employment. Highlighted in this section is:
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FROM: REGINALD E. McELHANNON, INTERIM DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: FAMILY HEALTHCARE (MAGI) MANUAL APPENDIX H UPDATE – ME 30 AND ME 70 ARE NEWBORN QUALIFYING ME CODES
MANUAL REVISION #122
The purpose of the memorandum is to advise that Appendix H ME Codes Chart in the Family Healthcare (MAGI) Manual has been updated.
ME Codes 30 (Juvenile Courts – Foster Care) and 70 (Juvenile Courts – Foster Care- Poverty) have been moved to the Newborn qualifying ME codes list side of Appendix H ME Codes Chart as they are both Title XIX funded.
In addition, ME Code 42 (MO HealthNet for Kids in Vendor Institution- Poverty) has been moved to ME Code 41 and Code 42 is currently not in use.
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FROM: REGINALD E. McELHANNON, INTERIM DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE (TA) MANUAL UPDATES – ADDING SECTION FOR APPLICATIONS RECEIVED WITH NO RESIDENTIAL OR MAILING ADDRESS
MANUAL REVISION #121
The purpose of this memorandum is to notify staff that Manual Section 0203.015.00 Application Received with no Residential or Mailing Address has been added to the Temporary Assistance (TA) Manual. This section has been added to provide guidance on how to process a Temporary Assistance Application that is received with no address.
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FROM: REGINALD E. McELHANNON, INTERIM DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: BLIND PENSION (BP) RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT
MANUAL REVISION #120
This memorandum announces manual revision of the residency requirement for Blind Pension applicants. This update enforces previous statutory requirements.
Section 209.030 RSMo requires that a person applying for BP must have:
Applicants for BP must verify 12 months of continuous residence in Missouri prior to the date they applied for BP. If it cannot be verified that s/he has lived in Missouri, or lost his/her vision while a resident of Missouri and lived in Missouri since becoming blind, the application must be rejected.
NOTE: A person who was a resident of Missouri when s/he lost his/her vision does not have to wait 12 months to be approved.
EXAMPLE: Mr. Potter moved to Missouri in January 2019. In March 2019 he had an accident and lost his vision. He applied for BP in April 2019. His ophthalmologist confirms the sudden onset of blindness and he provided rent receipts for an apartment in Missouri for January through April. He is eligible for BP, as long as all other eligibility is met.
Do not require verification of residence prior to accepting an application. Verification is required prior to approval. Acceptable verification includes, but is not limited to:
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FROM: REGINALD MCELHANNON, INTERIM DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: FOOD STAMPS DISCONTINUING EXPEDITE POSTPONE SERVICES WAIVER
MANUAL REVISION #119
Effective immediately, the Family Support Division (FSD) will discontinue the waiver that allows FSD to certify and issue benefits to households that meet expedited service criteria but are unable to complete the interview.
Applications must be screened for expedite benefits the same day as they are received. When households meet expedite criteria, an interview must be completed and identity must be verified prior to issuing expedited benefits.
Attempt to obtain as much verification about other eligibility factors such as household members, resources, income and expenses during the expedite process. However, expedited benefits are not delayed based on the receipt of these verifications.
NOTE: It is necessary to flow forward (F9) past the Document Queue (DOCQUE) (FMVM) screen to get completely through the flow.
When the application is taken completely through the flow, it allows FAMIS to automatically approve or reject an application on the 30th day. This will increase our timeliness rate, as staff will not have to manually reject applications.
However, it is always necessary for staff to authorize an application, approval or rejection/denial, when there is enough information to do so.
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FROM: REGINALD E. McELHANNON, ACTING DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: USING CLIENT STATEMENT INCOME VERIFICATION
MANUAL REVISION #118
1102.015.05 Gross Income
FAMIS is updated and will now pend for verification if Client Statement (CS) is entered for income verification for Food Stamps. The system would previously allow CS for income verification and approve based on this verification code.
The Food Stamp Manual is also updated with Client Statement information of acceptable verification. If Client Statement is the best available information to determine income and all attempts to verify income have been exhausted, a written statement from the client can be accepted and entered as Hard Copy (HC). All attempts that were taken to verify the income must be documented in the comments in order to accept client’s written statement of income. A written statement may also be appropriate for some types of self-employment.
OTHER PROGRAMS:
Child Care Subsidy:
CS is an eligible verification code for Child Care Subsidy. Using the CS code for income verification at application should only be used if all other options have been exhausted and the household is unable to provide the required verification to make an eligibility determination. Eligibility Specialists should only use the CS code when a household reports an increase in income during an active eligibility period and it is below 85% of the State Median Income (SMI) for their household size due to simplified reporting rules. If a household reports a decrease in income that results in an increase in benefits, staff should not enter the CS code and must verify the income.
Temporary Assistance and MO HealthNet:
The CS code will still pend for verification.
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FROM: REGINALD E. McELHANNON, INTERIM DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: INCREASE IN VENDOR MAXIMUM MONTHLY MAINTENANCE STANDARD AND MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM SPOUSAL SHARE
MANUAL REVISION#117
Effective January 1, 2020, the Maximum Monthly Maintenance Standard, and the minimum and maximum spousal share amounts are increased.
MAINTENANCE STANDARDS
The new Maximum Monthly Maintenance Standard is $3217.00. IM Manual APPENDIX B – Maintenance Standards for Allotments has been updated to reflect the change effective January 1, 2020.
The Minimum Monthly Maintenance Standard of $2114 was announced in Memo IM-#145, dated September 24, 2019.
SPOUSAL SHARE
The new minimum spousal share is $25,728.00. The new maximum spousal share is $128,640.00. Both amounts become effective for any assessment completed on or after January 1, 2020. IM Manual Sections 1030.035.10, 1030.035.20 and 1030.035.25 have been updated to reflect the spousal share increases effective January 1, 2020.
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FROM: REGINALD McELHANNON, INTERIM DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: CLARIFICATION OF VETERANS’ BENEFIT INCOME AND UPDATE OF AGENT ORANGE SETTLEMENT FUND PAYMENTS FOR ALL PROGRAMS
MANUAL REVISION #116
1600.010.15.15
1025.015.15
0410.015.10
0805.015.30
0805.015.10
0610.010.00
1805.030.20.10
1110.020.30
1115.015.85
2010.045.10.05
0210.015.35.40
0210.015.05
The purpose of this memorandum is to inform staff of updates to Veterans’ Benefits and Agent Orange Settlement Fund income in manual sections for the Temporary Assistance, MO HealthNet, Food Stamps, and Child Care programs.
The funding for this settlement fund was created as a result of a class action lawsuit, Re: Agent Orange product liability litigation, M.D.L. No. 381 (E.D.N.Y).
The Agent Orange Settlement Fund closed in 1997. This unearned income source is no longer valid.
Updates have been made to explain benefits paid by the Veterans Administration (VA) to veterans with service-related disabilities include payments for disabilities due to exposure to Agent Orange.
Refer to the chart below to review specific manual sections updated as a result of these changes.
| Program | Policy # | Update |
| Temporary Assistance | 0210.015.05 |
|
| Temporary Assistance | 0210.015.35.40 |
|
| Food Stamps | 1115.015.85 |
|
| Food Stamps | 1110.020.30 |
|
| Child Care | 2010.045.10.05 |
|
| MAGI | 1805.030.20.10 |
|
| MHABD | 0805.015.10 0805.15.30 |
|
| SAB | 0410.015.10 |
|
| SNC | 0610.010.00 |
|
| December 1973 | 1025.015.15 |
|
| Gateway to Better Health | 1600.010.15.15 |
|
Due to these updates, the Unearned Income (UI) sources of Agent Orange AETNA (AO) and Agent Orange Veteran’s Benefits (AV) are no longer valid. Until changes are made in FAMIS, discontinue using income types AV and AO in FAMIS. Use income type VA for all disability payments issued by the Veterans Administration to disabled veterans. In MEDES, discontinue using income types Agent Orange Aetna and Agent Orange Veterans Benefits.
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