SECTION 358.381. General Treatment of Income

(a) The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) follows §1612 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. §1382a) and 20 CFR §§416.1101 - 416.1104 regarding the definition and general treatment of income for the purpose of determining financial eligibility and calculating a co-payment.

(b) A lump sum payment is countable income in the month of receipt and is a resource thereafter.

(c) A person in an institutional setting may retain a personal needs allowance (PNA) in an amount set by the HHSC executive commissioner in accordance with Chapter 32 of the Texas Human Resources Code.

(1) The PNA is not applied toward the cost of medical assistance furnished in an institutional setting.

(2) For a person receiving the reduced SSI federal benefit rate, HHSC issues a supplement to give the person a PNA at the minimum level set by the HHSC executive commissioner.

(d) An action by a fiduciary agent is the same as an action by the person for whom the fiduciary agent acts.

(1) Monies received by a fiduciary agent for another person are not income to the fiduciary agent. If the fiduciary agent is authorized to keep part of the money as compensation for services rendered, the compensation for services rendered is unearned income to the fiduciary agent.

(2) Monies received by a fiduciary agent for another person are charged as income to the person when the monies are received by the fiduciary agent.

Source Note: The provisions of this §358.381 adopted to be effective September 1, 2009, 34 TexReg 5497