WAC 388-406-0005 Can I apply for cash, medical, or Basic Food?

1. You can apply for any benefit the department offers, including cash assistance, medical assistance, or Basic Food. 

2. You must meet certain eligibility requirements in order to receive a program benefit.

3. You can apply for someone else if you are:

   1. A legal guardian, caretaker, or authorized representative applying for:

      1. A dependent child;

      2. An incapacitated person; or

      3. Someone who is deceased;

   2. Applying for someone who cannot apply for some other reason.  We may ask why the applicant is unable to apply on their own behalf.

4. If you get Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you do not need to apply for medical benefits.  We automatically open medical benefits for you.

5. A person or agency may apply for GAU or medical assistance for you if:

   1. You temporarily live out-of-state; and

   2. You are a Washington state resident.

6. When you are confined or incarcerated in a Washington State public institution, you may apply for cash or medical assistance within forty-five days prior to your expected release date if you meet the following criteria:

   1. You are confined by or in the following public institutions:

      1. Department of Corrections;

      2. City or county jail; or

      3. Institution for Mental Diseases (IMD).

   2. Staff at the public institution provide medical records including diagnosis by a mental health professional that you have a mental disorder (as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders, most recent edition) that affects your thoughts, mood or behavior so severely that it prevents you from performing any kind of work.

7. We will make an eligibility determination for medical assistance prior to your release from confinement and will authorize medical benefits upon your release from confinement when you:

   1. Meet the criteria of subsection (6) in this section; and

   2. Were receiving Medicaid or General Assistance benefits immediately before confinement or within the five years prior to confinement.

8. If you meet the criteria in subsection (6) but did not receive Medicaid or General Assistance benefits within the five years prior to confinement, the department will process your request for medical assistance within the time frames in WAC 388-406-0035.

9. If you are applying for assistance for a youth leaving incarceration in a juvenile rehabilitation administration or county juvenile detention facility, you may apply for assistance within forty-five days prior to release. We will process your application for medical assistance when we receive it, and if eligible, we will authorize medical benefits upon the youth's release from confinement.