WAC 182-509-0005 MCS income--Ownership and availability.

This section applies to medical care services (MCS) program.

1.  The agency or the agency's designee counts all available income owned or held by persons in the assistance unit under WAC 182-506-0020  to decide if the individual is eligible for benefits when:

a.  The individual gets or expects to get income in the month.

b.  The agency or the agency's designee must count the income based on rules under this chapter.

c.  The individual owns the income.  The agency or the agency's designee uses state and federal laws about who owns property to decide if the individual actually owns the income.  If the individual is married, the agency or the agency's designee decides if the income is separate or community income according to chapter 26.16 RCW.

d.  The individual has control over the income, which means the income is actually available to the individual.  If the individual has a representative payee, protective payee, or other person who manages the individual's income, the agency or the agency's designee considers this as the individual having control over this income.

e.  The individual can use the income to meet their current needs.  The agency or the agency's designee counts the gross amount of available income in the month the individual's assistance unit gets it.  If the individual normally gets the income:

i.  On a specific day, the agency or the agency's designee counts it as available on that date.

ii.  Monthly or twice monthly and the pay date changes due to a reason beyond the individual's control, such as a weekend or holiday, the agency or the agency's designee counts it in the month the individual would normally get it.

iii.  Weekly or every other week and the pay date changes due to a reason beyond the individual's control, the agency or the agency's designee counts it in the month the individual would normally get it.

2.  If income is legally the individual's designee, the agency or the agency's designee considers the income as available to the individual even if it is paid to someone else for the individual.

3.  The agency or the agency's designee:

a.  May count the income of certain people who live in the individual's home, even if they are not getting or applying for benefits.  Their income counts as part of the individual's income.

b.  Counts the income of ineligible, disqualified, or financially responsible people as defined in WAC 182-509-0100.

4.  If the individual has a joint bank account with someone who is not in the individual's assistance unit (AU), the agency or the agency's designee counts any money deposited into that account as the individual's income unless:

a.  The individual can show that all or part of the funds belong only to the other account holder and are held or used only for the benefit of that holder; or

b.  Social Security Administration (SSA) used that money to determine the other account holder's eligibility for SSI benefits.

5.  Potential income is income the individual may be able to get that can be used to lower their need for assistance.  If the agency or the agency's designee determines that the individual has a potential source of income, the individual must make a reasonable effort to make the income available in order to get MCS.  The agency or the agency's designee does not count that income until the individual actually gets it.

6.  If the individual's AU includes a sponsored immigrant, the agency or the agency's designee considers the income of the immigrant's sponsor as available to the immigrant under the rules of this chapter.  The agency or the agency's designee uses this income when deciding if the individual's AU is eligible for benefits and to calculate the individual's monthly benefits.

7.  The individual may give the agency or the agency's designee proof about a type of income at anytime, including when the agency or the agency's designee asks for it or if the individual disagrees with a decision the agency or the agency's designee made, about:

a.  Who owns the income;

b.  Who has legal control of the income;

c.  The amount of the income; or

d.  If the income is available.