Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 20 - Division of County Operations › Rule 016.20.97-013 - MS 1300-1330 & MS 5900-5924 - Policy and Procedures regarding the expansion of family planning services to women who are not otherwise eligible for Medicaid.

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
Arkansas is implementing a five year family planning
				demonstration project. The purpose is to expand family planning services to
				women of childbearing age who are not certified in any other Medicaid
				category.
A statement has been added at MS 1310 to note that women
				certified for Family Planning Waiver services only are not required to
				cooperate with the Office of Child Support Enforcement.
Policy section MS 5910-5924 has been added which provides
				policies and procedures related to eligibility for this group.
Inquiries to: Terri Wright, 682-8258 Ann Dawson, 682-8254 Boyce
				Lovett, 682-1562
1300
GENERAL INFORMATION
1310
Child Support Enforcement
			 Services
Public Law 100-203, OBRA of 1987, mandates that the Office of
				Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) provide services to all Medicaid-on1y
				persons/families who have assigned to the State their rights to medical
				support. Each applicant or recipient must cooperate with OCSE in establishing
				legal paternity and obtaining medical support for each child who has a parent
				absent from the home.
OCSE must provide all appropriate services to Medicaid-only
				applicants/recipients without the OCSE application or fee. The OCSE agency is
				required to petition for medical support when health insurance is available to
				the absent parent at a reasonable cost. OCSE will also collect child support
				payments from the absent parent unless OCSE is notified by the recipient in
				writing that this service is not needed. Child support payments collected on
				behalf of Medicaid-only families are received and distributed to the custodial
				parent through the Central Office Child Support Clearinghouse. However, no
				recovery cost will be collected.
1.
Referrals
OCSE referrals will be made at each new certification
				for:
all Medicaid eligible children under the age of 18 who have one
				or both parents absent from the home, and all Medicaid eligible children under
				the age of 18 who were born out of wedlock, including situations where both
				parents are living in the home (the father will be referred for the
				establishment of paternity only).
EXCEPTION:
SOBRA
pregnant women will
				not be required to cooperate with the OCSE on Medicaid certified children,
				until after their postpartum period has ended. Women certified for Family
				Planning Waiver Services only are not required to cooperate with OCSE.
A parent is considered to be absent for Medicaid purposes when
				the absence is due to divorce, separation, incarceration, institutionalization,
				participation in a Rehabi1itation Service Program away from home,
or
military service, regardless of support, maintenance, physical care,
				guidance, or frequency of contact.
When a referral for Newborn Coverage (Categories 52 and 63) is
				received by the county, the worker will determine if there is an absent parent
				and obtain enough information to complete the DCO-115. Certification of the
				newborn in the 20-day period allowed for certification will not be delayed due
				to lack of absent parent information or due to non-cooperation by the newborn's
				mother.
Both parents of a Medicaid eligible child voluntarily placed in
				an institution or court ordered to an institution will be referred to the OCSE,
				whether or not the parent(s} were absent at the time the child was removed from
				the home.
Absent parents of all foster children will be referred to OCSE
				by the Division of Children and Family Services Eligibility Specialist.
2.
Guidelines
The guidelines found in FA 2245 through 2249.2 will be used as
				the guidelines for the Medicaid OCSE referrals, including the "good cause"
				policy.
The County Office Worker will explain the assignment of Medical
				Support on page four of the DCO-95 and will explain the OCSE requirements at
				each new application interview.
The form DCO-llB, Absent Parent Information, will be completed
				for entry to WAPU (Absent Parent Information Screen) for each Medicaid eligible
				child who has an absent parent or when legal paternity must be established.
				Upon receipt of the referral, OCSE will initiate steps to contact the custodial
				and noncustodial parents.
A DCO-90, Notice Concerning Good Cause For Refusal to
				Cooperate, will also be completed at each application interview.
Forms DCG-116, Client Statement Regarding Absent Parent, and
				DCO-117, Absent Parent Statement, need not be completed for Medicaid-only
				cases, with the exception of AFDC related Medicaid cases where deprivation is
				an eligibility requirement.
When Medicaid eligibility has ended, OCSE will notify the
				custodial parent that support services will continue. The custodial parent must
				advise OCSE in writing 1f they do not want these services to continue.
3.
Refusal to
			 Cooperate-Sanction
The County Office will be notified via form OCSE-1650 when an
				individual fails to cooperate with the OCSE in establishing paternity and
				medical support. Cooperation in establishing child support payments is not a
				requirement for Medicaid-only cases.
The needs of an adult relative who refuses to cooperate will
				not be included in the need standard, but the adult relative's income will be
				included, A child may not be denied medical benefits at any time due to failure
				of an adult relative to cooperate; however, inclusion of the adult relative's
				income in the child's need standard may result in ineligibility for the child.
				It will not be necessary to obtain a protective payee for the children when the
				adult relative has refused to cooperate.