Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 23 - Division of Medicaid › Part 104 - Income › Chapter 7 - Sources and Treatment of Unearned Income › Rule 23-104-7.47 - Educational Assistance

Current through June 25, 2024
A. Educational
				assistance is provided in many forms. Treatment will vary depending on the
				nature and sometimes the use of the assistance.
B. Educational assistance may be earned or
				unearned and may be counted or excluded.
1.
				The following are specific types of educational assistance:
a) VA Educational Benefits, which are
				discussed in Rule 7.10 );
b)
				Assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965 or Bureau
				of Indian Affairs;
1) All student financial
				assistance received under HEA or BIA assistance programs is excluded from
				income and resources, regardless of use.
2) The resource exclusion does not have a
				time limit, i.e., regardless of how long held, the assistance is excluded from
				resources.
3) Interest and
				dividends earned on unspent educational assistance under Title IV HEA and BIA
				are excluded from income.
c) Grants, Scholarships, Fellowships and
				Gifts;
1) Grants, scholarships and fellowships
				are defined as follows:
(a) These are amounts
				paid by private nonprofit agencies, the US government, instrumentalities or
				agencies of the US, state and local governments, foreign governments and
				private concerns, e.g., a private citizen, to enable qualified individuals to
				further their education and training by scholastic or research work,
				etc.
2) Gifts are
				defined as follows:
(a) A gift is something a
				person receives which is not repayment for goods or services provided and not
				given by legal obligation on the giver's part. To be a gift, something must be
				irrevocably given.
3)
				Any portion of a grant, scholarship, fellowship or gift used for paying
				tuition, fees, or other necessary educational expenses at any educational
				institution, including vocational or technical education, is excluded from
				income.
4) Any portion of such
				educational assistance that is not used for paying current tuition, fees or
				other necessary educational expenses but will be used for paying this type of
				educational expense at a future date is excluded from income in the month of
				receipt.
(a) This exclusion does not apply to
				that portion set aside or actually used for food, clothing or
				shelter.
5) Any portion
				of grants, scholarships, fellowships, or gifts that is not used or set aside
				for paying tuition, fees, or other necessary educational expenses is income in
				the month received and a resource the month after the month of receipt, if
				retained.
6) If any portion of
				grants, scholarships, fellowships or gifts that is excluded from resource
				because it is set aside to pay for necessary educational expenses is used for
				some other purpose, the funds are income at the earliest of the following
				points:
(a) In the month that it is spent;
				or
(b) The month the individual no
				longer intends to use the funds to pay necessary educational expense.
7) If the funds set aside for pay
				for necessary educational expenses are not spent after the
				9th month, they are countable resources as of the
				10th month following the month of receipt.
(a) Interest and dividends earned on grants,
				scholarships, fellowships or gifts which are excluded as a resource count as
				income. Interest and dividends earned on educational assistance which is a
				countable resource are excluded as income.
d) Educational Payments under AmeriCorps and
				the National Civilian Community Corps.
1) The
				National and Community Service Trust Act established the Corporation for
				National and Community Services (CNCS). Through CNCS, the federal government
				administers a number of national and community service programs. It is also the
				federal agency that administers VISTA and the Service Corps, programs formerly
				administered by the ACTION agency.
2) Effective September 1, 2008, cash or
				in-kind payments provided by AmeriCorps State and National and AmeriCorps NCCC
				are excluded from income, even if they meet the definition of wages. Such
				payments include, but are not limited to:
(a)
				Living allowance payments;
(b)
				Stipends;
(c) Food and
				shelter;
(d) Clothing
				allowances;
(e) Educational awards
				and payments in lieu of educational awards.