                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ELIGIBILITY FOR PROGRAM; DUTY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES AND LOCAL
WELFARE OR SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCIES; DATA REQUIRED (§ 32.1-347)

A. The Board of Medical Assistance Services shall promulgate regulations to
establish uniform eligibility criteria by defining those persons who will
qualify for payment for medical care under the Program. Such criteria shall
include, but not be limited to, the following:

   1. To be eligible, a person shall have net countable income, determined in
   accordance with the Board of Medical Assistance Services&#8217; regulations,
   equal to or less than 100 percent of the federal nonfarm poverty level as
   published for the then current year in the Code of Federal Regulations, except
   that localities which in fiscal year 1989 used an income level higher than 100
   percent of the federal nonfarm poverty level may continue to use the same
   income level; and

   2. To be eligible, a person shall have net countable resources, determined in
   accordance with the Board of Medical Assistance Services&#8217; regulations,
   equal to or less than the then current resource standards of the federal
   Supplemental Security Income Program.
   				Further, as a condition of eligibility, the Department of Medical
   Assistance Services shall require all legally competent applicants and
   recipients to assign to the Commonwealth any and all rights to third party
   benefits, whether contractual or otherwise, including medical support or
   payments, to which the applicants and recipients may be entitled. All
   applicants and recipients shall also agree to cooperate with the Department in
   obtaining such third party benefits. Such an assignment shall not preclude a
   court from apportioning sums which would be subject to the provisions of
   &#xA7; 8.01-66.9.

B. Eligibility under this Program shall be determined by the Department of
Social Services through the local boards of welfare or social services upon
application for assistance under this program from residents of such localities.
The eligibility criteria established by the Board pursuant to this section shall
be used in processing all such applications. The local departments of welfare or
social services shall certify to the applicant and Department of Medical
Assistance Services within thirty days of receipt of each application whether
the person applying meets such criteria.

C. Administrative appeal of adverse eligibility decisions shall be conducted by
the Department using the procedures applicable to applicants for Medicaid
benefits under the State Plan for Medical Assistance pursuant to Chapter 10
(&#xA7; 32.1-323 et seq.) of this title.

D. The State/Local Hospitalization Program shall be established in the books of
the Comptroller so as to segregate the amounts appropriated and the amounts
contributed thereto by the localities. No portion of the State/Local
Hospitalization Program shall be used for a purpose other than that described in
this chapter. Any state funds remaining at the end of the fiscal year shall not
revert to the general fund but shall remain in the State/Local Hospitalization
Program to be used as an offset to the calculated local share for the following
year. Any local share money remaining at the end of the fiscal year or the
biennium shall remain in the locality&#8217;s account under the State/Local
Hospitalization Program to be used by the Department as an offset to the
calculated local share for the following year.

HISTORY: 1989, cc. 657, 746; 1992, c. 104; 1994, c. 297; 1996, cc. 782, 792.