E-5300, When Not to Project Variable Income

Revision 09-4; Effective December 1, 2009

1. Variable income is received from all sources in fewer than three of the preceding six months and is not anticipated to increase in frequency. Variable income that is not projected is restituted at the annual redetermination, if the amount in the month of receipt is $5 or more.
   
   Example: The person entered an NF in January and applied for Medicaid in the same month. During the six months preceding the month the case is worked (February), the person received the following variable payments, which are anticipated to reoccur during the projection period (March through August).
    

   Month	Source #1	Source #2	Payment Received
   Aug.
   Sept.	$20		X
   Oct.
   Nov.		$20	X
   Dec.
   Jan.

   
   Because the person did not receive variable income from all sources during at least three of the preceding six months, do not average and project variable income, even though these payments are anticipated to reoccur with the same frequency during the coming six months.
   
   Note: If an eligibility budget is being calculated for the prior month of November, the $20 payment received that month is excluded as infrequent/irregular income in the eligibility budget. There is no co-payment budget for November because the person did not enter the NF until January.
2. Variable income is received during three of the preceding six months from any combination of sources, but payment from at least one of the sources is not anticipated to reoccur during the next six months, and payments from remaining sources were not received during three of the preceding six months.
   
   Examples:
   • The person entered an NF in January and applied for Medicaid the same month. During the six months preceding the month the case is worked (February), the person received the following unearned variable payments, but the payment from Source #3 was a one-time payment and is not anticipated to continue.

     Month	Source #1	Source #2	Source #3	Payment Received
     Aug.	$30			X
     Sept.
     Oct.		$30		X
     Nov.
     Dec.
     Jan.			$50	X

     
     Although the person received variable income from all sources during three of the preceding six months, the payment from Source #3 is not anticipated to reoccur. Therefore, the variable payments from Sources #1 and #2 are not averaged and projected for future months.
     
     Note: If eligibility is being determined for the prior month of October, the unearned variable income of $30 received during that month is not countable income, as the amount is less than the infrequent or irregular exclusion of the first $60 unearned in a calendar quarter. (See Section E-9000, Infrequent or Irregular Income.) There is no co-payment budget for October because the person did not enter the NF until January.
   • The person entered the NF in January and applied for Medicaid the same month. During the six months preceding the month in which the case is worked (February), the person received the following variable payments, but the payment from Source #3, received in October, was a one-time payment and is not anticipated to recur.

     Month	Source #1	Source #2	Source #3	Payment Received
     Aug.	$20			X
     Sept.		$20		X
     Oct.			$20	X
     Nov.
     Dec.	$20	$20		X
     Jan.

     
     Because the person received variable income from Sources #1 and #2 during three of the preceding six months, the income from Sources #1 and #2 is averaged and projected into the co-payment budget for the coming six months (March through August). However, since the one-time $20 payment from Source #3 is not anticipated to recur, it is not included in the average of variable income to be projected.
3. Variable income from all sources was received during three of the preceding six months and is anticipated to recur, but the average of income from all sources is less than $5.
   
   Example: The person entered the NF in January and applied for Medicaid the same month. During the six-month period preceding the month in which the case is worked (February), the person received the following variable payments, all of which are anticipated to recur.
    

   Month	Source	Payment Received
   Aug.	$2	X
   Sept.	$1	X
   Oct.	$2	X
   Nov.	$5	X
   Dec.	$3	X
   Jan.	$4	X

   
   The person received variable payments from all sources during each of the six preceding month; however, because the average of all payments is less than $5 ($2 + $1 + $2 + $5 + $3 + $4 = $17 ÷ 6 months = $2.83) and is not anticipated to increase, that average is not projected into the co-payment budget.