SECTION 361.111. Income

(a) To be eligible for MBIC, a child's family must have monthly countable income less than or equal to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).

(b) Countable income means:

(1) earned income for purposes of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program minus all applicable exclusions and exemptions, as explained in 20 CFR §§416.1110 - 416.1112; and

(2) unearned income for purposes of the SSI program minus all applicable exclusions and exemptions, as explained in 20 CFR §§416.1120 - 416.1124, except HHSC does not count as income:

(A) in-kind support and maintenance;

(B) payments made from or interest earned on a tuition savings program under §358.388 of this title (relating to Tuition Savings Programs);

(C) payments made from or interest earned on an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account under §358.389 of this title (relating to Achieving a Better Life Program); and

(D) income earned on a school-based savings program under §358.390 of this title (relating to School-Based Savings Program).

(c) To determine the family's monthly countable income, HHSC counts the income of the child applying for or receiving MBIC, the income of the child's parents living in the same household as the child, and the income of the child's ineligible siblings living in the same household as the child.

(1) For a stepparent's income to count, the stepparent must be the current husband or wife of a natural or adoptive parent living in the same household as the child and the natural or adoptive parent.

(2) A sibling's income counts through the month of the sibling's:

(A) 18th birthday; or

(B) 22nd birthday, if the sibling is, as determined by HHSC, regularly attending school, college, or job training.

(3) HHSC calculates the family's monthly countable income as follows:

(A) Total the following:

(i) Monthly countable income of the child applying for or receiving MBIC.

(ii) Combined monthly countable income of the child's parents.

(iii) Countable monthly income of each of the child's ineligible siblings that is in excess of 150% of the FPL for a household of one, multiplied by 2, plus $85.

(B) Subtract $85 from the total arrived at in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.

(C) Divide the total arrived at in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph by 2.

Source Note: The provisions of this §361.111 adopted to be effective January 1, 2011, 35 TexReg 11572; amended to be effective February 3, 2013, 38 TexReg 367; amended to be effective November 20, 2016, 41 TexReg 9006