(a) Applications for public assistance under this chapter shall be made by the applicant, or by someone acting in the applicant’s behalf, in the manner, place, and form prescribed by the department.
Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 346-29
Applicant: means the person for whose use and benefit application for services or public assistance is made. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 346-1
Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
Financial assistance: means public assistance, except for payments for medical care, social service payments, transportation assistance, and emergency assistance under § 346-65, including funds received from the federal government. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 346-1
Medical assistance: means payment for medical care or personal care services, including funds received from the federal government. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 346-1
Medical care: means all kinds of medical care, psychiatric care, dental care, and maternity care, including surgical care, hospital care, eye care (which includes optical appliances), materials, supplies, and all other appliances used in the care, treatment and rehabilitation of patients, and hospitalization. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 346-1
Medical institution: means a facility in which health care services are provided that also provides long-term care services at a nursing facility level of care for the purposes of dealing with medicaid liens in this chapter. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 346-1
Minor dependents: means dependents living in the home of a specified adult, as defined by rules, in which the adult is the primary caretaker and the dependent is under eighteen or if between eighteen and nineteen, enrolled full-time in a program of secondary or equivalent level vocational or technical school, and is expected to complete the program before reaching age nineteen. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 346-1
Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
Public assistance: means financial assistance to or for the benefit of persons whom the department has determined to be without sufficient means of support to maintain a standard consistent with this chapter, payments to or on behalf of such persons for medical care, and social service payments as described under the Social Security Act. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 346-1
Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
Recipient: means the person for whose use and benefit services are rendered or a grant of public assistance is made. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 346-1
Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
(b) No applicant or recipient who is found guilty of fraudulently misrepresenting residence to obtain assistance in two or more states shall be entitled to public assistance under this chapter for ten years from date of conviction. No applicant or recipient shall be entitled to public assistance under this chapter who is a fugitive felon or who is in violation of a condition of probation or parole or has sufficient income or other resources to provide a standard above that provided in this chapter, or who is an inmate of any public institution, except that any inmate of a public institution who is otherwise eligible for medical assistance and who has been determined by the medical director of the institution as having a major illness or medical condition requiring the provision of medical care outside of the institution may receive assistance under this chapter. An inmate of a public institution or resident of a medical institution may apply for assistance to begin after the inmate’s discharge from the institution. To enforce this subsection, the department shall examine each list of inmates within, or newly admitted to, a correctional facility in the State that is submitted to the department by the director of corrections and rehabilitation pursuant to section 353-12.5, regardless of the nature of the offense for which an inmate is incarcerated or the duration of incarceration, to determine whether an inmate is eligible for public assistance under this chapter.(c) In determining the needs of an applicant or recipient for public assistance by the department, the department shall:
(1) Disregard the amounts of earned or unearned income as required or allowed by federal acts and other regulations, to receive federal funds and disregard from gross earned income twenty per cent plus $200 and a percentage of the remaining balance of earned income consistent with federal regulations and other requirements;(2) Consider as net income in all cases the income as federal acts and other regulations require the department to consider for receipt of federal funds and may consider the additional income and resources as these acts and regulations permit to be considered;(3) For households with minor dependents, disregard assets in determining the needs of persons for financial assistance; provided that the amount to be disregarded shall not exceed standards under federally funded financial assistance programs. This paragraph shall not apply to persons eligible for federal supplemental security income benefits, aid to the aged, blind or disabled, or general assistance to households without minor dependents. In determining the needs of persons eligible for federal supplemental security income benefits, aid to the aged, blind or disabled, or general assistance to households without minor dependents, the department shall apply all the resource retention and exclusion requirements under the federal supplemental security income program;(4) Apply the resource retention requirements under the federal supplemental security income program in determining the needs of a single person for medical assistance only;(5) Apply the resource retention requirements under the federal supplemental security income program in determining the needs of a family of two persons for medical assistance only and an additional $250 for each additional person included in an application for medical assistance only;(6) Disregard amounts of emergency assistance granted under section 346-65;(7) Not consider as income or resources any payment for services to or on behalf of, or any benefit received by, a participant under the first-to-work program of part XI, other than wages. Wages earned by a participant while participating in the first-to-work program shall be considered income of the participant, unless the wages are excluded or disregarded under any other law;(8) Not consider as income or resources payment made to eligible individuals, eligible surviving spouses, surviving children or surviving parents as specified under Title I of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 , Public Law 100-383, which made restitution to individuals of Japanese ancestry who were interned during World War II;(9) Allow the community spouse of an individual residing in a medical institution to maintain countable resources to the maximum allowed by federal statutes or regulations with provisions for increases, as allowed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services by means of indexing, court order, or fair hearing decree, without jeopardizing the eligibility of the institutionalized spouse for medical assistance;(10) Allow an individual residing in a medical institution to contribute toward the support of the individual’s community spouse, thereby enabling the community spouse to maintain the monthly maximum income allowed by federal statutes or regulations, with provisions for increases as allowed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services by means of indexing, court order, or fair hearing decree;(11) Consider the transfer of assets from the applicant’s name to another name within the specified time period as required by federal regulations, known as the “lookback” period, prior to the application for medical assistance for care in a nursing home or other long-term care facility. Pursuant to rules adopted under chapter 91, the director may attribute any assets that have been transferred within the required federal “lookback” period from the applicant if the director determines that transfer of certain assets was made solely to make the applicant eligible for assistance under this chapter; and(12) Not consider as income or resources any funds deposited into a family self-sufficiency escrow account on behalf of a participant under a federal housing choice voucher family self-sufficiency program as required or allowed under federal law.(d) In determining eligibility for medical assistance, the department shall require from all applicants and recipients the assignment of any benefits due to a third party liability. Any rights or amounts so assigned shall be applied against the cost of medical care paid under this chapter.(e) The director shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 defining assets and to determine eligibility for medical assistance; provided that the cash surrender value of life insurance policies owned by persons included in an application shall be treated as assets.
