STATE OF ALASKA
Department of Health and Social Services
Division of Public Assistance
TRANSMITTAL NUMBER: MCManual Change #65
MANUAL: Adult Public Assistance
DATE: September 1, 2022
We are making several changes to incorporate new policy, clarify existing policy, and align policies within our program policy manuals. Other changes are either technical in nature or clarifications that are the result of policy questions or suggestions from the field.
Highlights of these policy revision are described below. If you have any questions, contact the Policy and Program Development Team at hss.dpa.policy@alaska.gov.
OVERVIEW OF CHANGES
410-3(E) SCHEDULING INTERVIEWS
- Removed reference to Appointment Plus as this system is no longer used.
410-4 VERIFICATION
- Revised section to clarify that SAVESystematic Alien Verification for Entitlements is part of IEVSInstant Eligiblity Verification System.
421-5(A) LEGAL, NON-QUALIFED ALIENS
- Renamed section from Permanently Residing Under Color of Law" (PRUCOLPermanently Residing (in the U.S.) Under Color of Law) to "Legal, Non-Qualified Aliens" to align with the MAGI Medicaid manual.
- Added a note clarifying that an individual with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a legal, non-qualified alien.
421-6 DOCUMENTATION OF U.S.United States CITIZENSHIP AND ELIGIBLE ALIEN STATUS
- Added to the existing note to clarify that in some circumstances, non-citizens may receive SSDISocial Security Disability Insurance, SSISupplemental Security Income, or Medicare. Therefore, receipt of these programs does not exempt the individual from verifying their alien status.
- Clarified that SAVE is part of IEVS.
426-2(C) INTERIM ASSISTANCE BLINDNESS OR DISABILITY DETERMINATION
- Clarified that if a client is pursuing Interim Assistance (IA) and has an application status of H80 with SSISupplemental Security Income, their APAAdult Public Assistance application should be pended until we get a decision from either SSISupplemental Security Income or the IAInterim Assistance medical reviewer.
426-2(F) CONTRACTING THE MEDICAL REVIEWER
- Revised section to reflect the current field process.
431-2(M) VIRTUAL CURRENCY/CRYPTOCURRENCY
- Added new subsection regarding Virtual Currency/Cryptocurrency as this is a countable resource.
440-2 WHEN INCOME IS COUNTED
- Clarified that retroactive SSI and RSDI payments are not counted as income in the month of receipt.
- Added a link to 441-2(Q).
442-3 UNEARNED INCOME EXCLUSIONS
- Clarified that only $2,000 in payments from an Alaska Native Corporation is exempt, even when the payment is coming from a Native Organization's Settlement Trust.
450-2 LIVING INDEPENDENTLY (SSI "A" LIVING ARRANGEMENT)
- Added "or" after each bullet for clarity.
452-1 PAYMENT CALCULATIONS
- Added a note clarifying that DPADivision of Public Assistance must calculate the income rather than using the amount calculated by SSASocial Security Administration.
452-5 COMPUTATION OF BENEFITS
- Added a note clarifying that DPADivision of Public Assistance must calculate the income rather than using the amount calculated by SSASocial Security Administration.
ADDENDUM 3
- Added a new Addendum outlining basic countable and excluded income for APA.