To prevent spenddown couples from each paying the full amount of spenddown, the IMU5 system requires married couples to be combined on one Medical Assistance case. If one spouse is eligible and the other is not, the system requires the non-eligible spouse to be entered as an included person (level of care “Z” in field 13G) in IMU5.
The casehead or payee must be an active MA recipient. If the payee loses eligibility for any reason the case must be closed and a new case opened in the name of the eligible spouse. A new application will not be required.
This section only applies to MA cases using a two-person expense. It does not apply to cases that always use a one-person expense such as BP, SAB, Vendor, MA-HCB, MA-WD, etc.