Ill. Admin. Code tit. 89, § 120.380 - Resources

a) Unless otherwise specified and for purposes of this Part, the term "resource" (as defined in 42 USC 1382 b, except subsection (a)(1) of that section, which excludes the home as a resource) means cash or any other personal or real property that a person owns and has the right, authority or power to liquidate.

b) A resource is considered available to pay for a person's own care when at the disposal of that person; when the person has a legal interest in a liquidated sum and has the legal ability to make the sum available for support, maintenance or medical care; or when the person has the lawful power to make the resource available or to cause the resource to be made available.

c) The value of nonexempt resources shall be considered in determining eligibility for any means-tested public benefit program administered by the Department, the Department of Human Services or the Department on Aging if eligibility is determined, in part, on the basis of resources as provided under this Section.

d) Determination of Resources

1) In determining initial financial eligibility for medical assistance:

A) The Department considers nonexempt verified resources available to a person as of the date of decision on the application for medical assistance. The date of verification (see Section 120.308(f) ) may be prior to the date of decision. Resources applied to a spenddown obligation in a retroactive month (see Section 120.61(b) ) shall not be treated as available in the determination of initial financial eligibility. Money considered as income for a month is not considered a resource for that same month. If income for a month is added to a bank account that month, the Department will subtract the amount of income from the bank balance to determine the resource level. Any income remaining in the following months is considered a resource.

B) Effective June 16, 2014, clients and applicants who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments or who were receiving SSI when they entered a nursing home or the supported living program or initiated other long term support services are considered to have their current resources verified.

C) Effective June 16, 2014, individuals who have verified income at or below 100% FPL and report resources at or below the appropriate resource disregard in Section 120.382 or 120.510 are considered to have their current resources verified, unless there is a specific reason to question the value of the resource.

2) Effective July 1, 2012, an applicant for medical assistance may be eligible for up to 3 months prior to the date of application if the person would have been eligible for medical assistance at the time he or she received services if he or she had applied, regardless of whether the person is alive when the application for medical assistance is made. In determining financial eligibility for retroactive months, the Department will consider the amount of income, resources and exemptions available to a person as of the first day of each of the backdated months for which eligibility is sought.

3) In determining a person's spenddown obligation (see Section 120.384 ), the Department considers the amount of nonexempt resources available as of the date of decision, in the case of initial eligibility, and the first day of the month, in the case of retroactive eligibility, that are in excess of the applicable resource disregard (see Section 120.382).

e) Subject to subsection (c) of this Section and 89 Ill. Adm. Code 113.140, the entire equity value of jointly held resources shall be considered available in determining a person's eligibility for assistance, unless:

1) The resource is a joint income tax refund, in which case one-half of the refund is considered owned by each person; or

2) The person documents that he or she does not have access to the resource. Appropriate documents may include, but are not limited to, bank documents, signature cards, trust documents, divorce papers, and papers from court proceedings that show the person is legally unable to access the resource; or

3) The resource is held jointly with an individual eligible under any means-tested public health benefit program (other than the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) administered by the Department, the Department of Human Services, or the Department on Aging; or

4) The person can document the amount of his or her legal interest in the resource and that such amount is less than the entire value of the resource, then the documented amount shall be considered. Appropriate documentation may include, but is not limited to, bank documents, trust documents, signature cards, divorce papers, or court orders that show the person's legal interest is less than the entire value of the resource; or

5) The person documents that the resource or a portion of the resource is not owned by the person and the person's accessibility to the resource is changed (see subsections (e)(2) and (4) for documentation examples).

f) In determining the eligibility of a person for long term care services whose spouse resides in the community, all nonexempt resources owned by the institutionalized spouse, the community spouse, or both shall be considered available to the institutionalized spouse in determining his or her eligibility for medical assistance. From the total amount of such resources may be deducted a Community Spouse Resource Allowance as provided under Section 120.379.

g) Trusts established prior to August 11, 1993 shall be treated in the manner described in Section 120.346.

h) Trusts established on or after August 11, 1993 shall be treated in the manner described in Section 120.347.

i) The value of a life estate shall be determined at the time the life estate in the property is established and at the time the property (for example, resources) is liquidated. In determining the value of a life estate and remainder interest based on the value of the property at the time the life estate is established or of the amount received when the property is liquidated, the Department shall apply the values described in Table A. The life estate and remainder interest are based on the age of the person at the time the life estate in the property is established and at the time the property is liquidated and the corresponding values described in Table A.

j) A person's entrance fee in a continuing care retirement community or life care community (as those entities are described in 42 USC 1396 r(c)(5)(B)) shall be considered an available resource to the extent that:

1) the person has the ability to use the entrance fee, or the contract provides that the entrance fee may be used to pay for care should other resources or income of the person be insufficient to pay for the care;

2) the person is eligible for a refund of any remaining entrance fee when the person dies or terminates the continuing care retirement community or life care community contract and leaves the community; and

3) the entrance fee does not confer an ownership interest in the continuing care retirement community or life care community.

k) Non-homestead real property, including homestead property that is no longer exempt (see Section 120.381(a)(1) ), is considered an available resource unless:

1) the property is exempted as income-producing to the extent permitted under Section 120.381(a)(3), except Section 120.381(a)(3) shall not apply to farmland property and personal property used in the income-producing operations related to the farmland (e.g., equipment and supplies, motor vehicles, tools, etc.) through December 31, 2013;

2) ownership of the property consists of a fractional interest of such a small value that a substantial loss to the person would occur if the property were sold;

3) the property has been listed for sale, in which case the property will not be counted as available for at least six months as long as the person continues to make a good faith effort to sell the property. This effort can be verified by evidence, including advertisements or documentation of the listing of the property with licensed real estate agents or brokers that includes a report of any offer from prospective buyers. The Department will review cases in which the property has not been sold after six months and will consider the following factors in determining if extensions of the initial six months are warranted:

A) the asking price is less than the fair market value of the property;

B) the property is marketed through a qualified realtor who is acting in good faith;

C) there is not a substantial market for the type of property being sold; and

D) the person has not rejected any reasonable offer to buy the property; or

4) the homestead property that is no longer exempt (see Section 120.381(a)(1) ) is producing annual net income for the person in an amount that is not less than six percent of the person's equity value in the property. In determining net income, the Department shall recognize business expenses allowed for federal income tax purposes.

Notes

Ill. Admin. Code tit. 89, § 120.380

Amended at 37 Ill. Reg. 10208, effective June 27, 2013

Amended at 38 Ill. Reg. 23595, effective 12/2/2014