New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 14 - DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HYGIENE › Chapter XIII - Office of Mental Health › Part 522 - Directors of Mental Hygiene Facilities As Representative Payees › Section 522.1 - Background and intent

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) The Social
				Security Administration is a Federal government agency that administers two
				major benefit programs. The largest of these programs is the Retirement,
				Survivors, and Disability Insurance program (Social Security). The other is the
				Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
(b) The Social Security program protects
				employees and their families from a loss of earnings because of retirement,
				death, or disability. Social Security benefits are based on the earnings of an
				employee who has paid into the system by paying Federal Insurance Contributions
				Act tax for a specified period of time. An employee, or his or her family, can
				receive Social Security benefits based on retirement, disability, or death.
(c) The SSI program is a federal
				income maintenance program for aged, blind, and disabled persons with little or
				no income or resources. To receive SSI payments, a person must be age 65 or
				older, blind or disabled and must have limited income and resources.
(d) The Veterans Administration is a Federal
				government agency that administers benefit programs for veterans.
(e) The Social Security Administration
				Representative Payee Payment Program and the Veterans Administration provide
				assistance to persons who are unable to manage their federal benefits,
				permitting payment of the benefits to designated fiduciaries, referred to as
				"representative payees" by the SSA and as "fiduciaries" by the Veterans
				Administration, who receive and manage payments on behalf of beneficiaries.
				Other state and federal benefit programs may approve similar arrangements to
				assist beneficiaries who are not capable of handling their own
				benefits.
(f) In some cases,
				facility directors who serve as representative payees may receive lump sum
				retroactive benefits on behalf of a beneficiary; in other cases, facility
				directors may learn about a windfall payment due to an individual who is
				receiving services from the facility. In both situations, the payments may, in
				combination with other resources of the individual, render the individual
				ineligible for government benefits on which the individual relies or plans to
				rely upon discharge from the facility. In these cases, a Medicaid exception
				trust or similar device may provide a mechanism to preserve the assets for the
				benefit of the individual without rendering the individual ineligible for the
				needed benefits.
(g) The purpose of
				this regulation is to implement the provisions of Mental Hygiene Law Section
				33.07(e) regarding the management and protection of monthly benefits and
				retroactive awards received by facility directors in the capacity of
				representative payee; the use of Medicaid exception trusts, including special
				needs trusts and similar devices; notice to qualified persons as defined by
				Mental Hygiene Law 33.16 regarding the intent of a facility director to apply
				to be an individual's representative payee; and the appropriate establishment
				and maintenance of a discharge account for future needs of individuals for whom
				directors serve as fiduciaries.