Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 18 - HUMAN SERVICES › Part 6 - Division of Family and Children's Services › Chapter 1 - DFCS Policy Manual › Section 18-6-1-E - Eligibility Foster Care Financial Assessment › Section 18-6-1-E-IV - MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY

Current through June 25, 2024
The medical expenses of all children in the custody of
					 DFCS are paid, and the primary sources of funding are Medicaid and local/state
					 funds.
Foster children are Medicaid eligible when the child:
* Receives SSI. The Medicaid benefits are authorized by
					 the Social Security Administration.
* Is eligible for and receiving Medicaid in the home of a
					 parent or unlicensed relative. The eligibility determination and authorization
					 are handled by the Division of Medicaid office in the county of residence.
* Meets the following eligibility requirements:
A.
Custody
The child must be in the sole custody of the DFCS.
					 Children placed in joint custody of DFCS and another person(s) will have their
					 Medicaid eligibility determined by the local county Medicaid Office.
					 Application must be made by the joint custodian or the COR Worker if the joint
					 custodian is not a licensed resource home.
B.
Resources
The child's own resources cannot exceed $10,000. MACWIS
					 automatically re-evaluates the child's resource limits for Medicaid eligibility
					 every month. The Worker will make every effort to maintain the child's
					 resources below $10,000.
Children who receive SSI Medicaid will not be affected by
					 the $10,000 resource limit. However, SSI has a resource limit of $2,000 which
					 will terminate SSI Medicaid and monetary benefits.
C.
Income
The child's monthly unearned income will be tested against
					 the 185% AFDC need rate for one child which is $403. If the child's monthly
					 unearned income exceeds $403, the child will be ineligible for Title IV-E
					 Medicaid. The child's own unearned monthly income will then be tested against
					 the State Foster Care Need Standard. The State Foster Care Need Standard is the
					 set amount of money established by the State for the foster care of this child.
					 The amount may vary depending on the age and circumstances of the child and the
					 type of home or institution in which s/he is placed. MACWIS will test, on a
					 monthly basis; the child's income against the board rate the child is eligible
					 for based on the age of the child and the placement.
If the child's unearned income is below this rate, the
					 child is eligible for CWS Medicaid.
A child in a licensed relative placement will have his/her
					 Medicaid eligibility determined by testing his monthly unearned income against
					 the regular board payment rate based on age for CWS Medicaid.
If the child's unearned income exceeds the amount of the
					 board rate, the child is ineligible for Medicaid through the foster care
					 system. The Worker will refer the relative/child's assigned worker) providing
					 care, who may be eligible for Medicaid, to the Division of Medicaid office.
Medicaid Card. Children who are eligible for Medicaid will
					 be issued a one-time plastic Medicaid card. The card will be mailed to the
					 County of Responsibility (COR). In the event the child is placed outside his
					 own county, the COR Worker will be responsible for obtaining the card (or)
					 placement and moving the card with the child. A duplicate Medicaid card can be
					 requested from the Electronic Data System (EDS) by the Worker, should the card
					 be misplaced. When the child leaves custody, the Worker should retrieve the
					 card from the placement and give the card to the child's custodian or to the
					 child, if the child is age eighteen (18) or older and file a copy of the card
					 in the child's case file.
D.
Interstate Compact Placement of
				  Children/COBRA Medicaid
Title IV-E foster children receiving Title IV-E adoption
					 assistance and ICPC children who are Title IV-E eligible in the state of origin
					 are eligible for Medicaid in the state in which they reside provided a) the
					 Worker has written verification that the child is Title IV-E eligible in the
					 state of responsibility and b) the child is in a licensed Resource
					 Home/facility in Mississippi.
The Worker will be responsible for initiating Medicaid for
					 ICPC/COBRA children provided the children have entered the state through ICPC.
					 If the children are not known to ICPC at State Office, the Worker will direct
					 the Resource Home/Facility to the county Economic Assistance office for
					 application of Medicaid benefits.
E.
Third Party Liability
DFCS is required to take all reasonable measures to
					 determine the legal liabilities of a "third party" to pay for medical services.
					 The Worker will report all Third Party Liabilities (TPL) to Eligibility either
					 by documentation to the Eligibility Unit or by entering the information in
					 MACWIS. The Worker will make direct inquiry to the parent(s) or guardian
					 regarding whether the child has any type of private insurance coverage.
F.
Refugees and/or
				  Unaccompanied Minors
The Worker will be alert to any children coming into care
					 who may qualify for federal funds under the Refugee Act of 1980 (see 45 CFR 400
					 ). The funds are available for an eight (8) month period beginning with the
					 first month of entry into the United States. For unaccompanied refugee minor
					 cases, funds are available as long as the child is in care. There are two broad
					 categories of children who may qualify for refugee funding:
* Those entering the United States with their families.
* Those designated as "unaccompanied minors" on the 1-94
					 cards.
Since the plan for these children does not include
					 "returning the child to the home", these children must be certified for Child
					 Welfare System (CWS) funds and not Title IV-E
.
The children
					 will also be eligible for Medicaid benefits. To be eligible for foster care
					 refugee funds, one of the following conditions must be met:
* The child must have been removed from the home of a
					 family receiving refugee financial and medical assistance and the child must
					 have been included in the grant, or
* The child has appropriate refugee or alien status as
					 established by the National Immigration Service (NIS) and the child has been in
					 the United States less than eight months, or
* The child entered this country without a family and has
					 received appropriate unaccompanied minor status by the NIS.
G.
Child Welfare Service
				  Eligibility
Payments for Title IV-E foster care end one month
					 following child's eighteenth (18 th) birthday.
					 Children who are not eligible for Title IV-E foster care payments will have
					 their needs tested to determine eligibility for foster care payments to be made
					 from Title IV-B
,
CWS, funds. The criteria for CWS eligibility
					 are that the child:
* Must be in the custody of the DFCS and under twenty (20)
					 years of age if the court order is by the youth court or under twenty-one (21)
					 years of age if the order is by the chancery court.
* Must be placed in an approved Resource Home or child
					 caring facility.
* Own unearned income must not be over the amount of the
					 board payment for his/her age group.
* Cannot have resources which exceed $10,000.
If all of the above criteria are met, the child will be
					 eligible for foster care payment to be made from CWS funds.
Use of "Local" Funds:
The child's own monthly income, if any, is considered
					 "local" funds. The child's own income up to the amount of that child's board
					 payment will be used and applied toward his board payment each month.
Documentation of the receipt of income for a child will be
					 made in MACWIS and MACWIS will evaluate that information in relationship to
					 eligibility and the amount to be applied to the monthly board rate.