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IMA POLICY MANUAL
PART III: APPLICATION PROCESSING
Scheduling the Interview 1.8.1
| ALL |
For in person applications, interview the applicant or authorized representative on the day the application is filed. If this is not possible, schedule the interview for the next working day.
For mail in and forwarded applications, schedule the interview as soon as possible after the filing of the application in order to ensure that the eligible group receives an opportunity to participate in a timely manner (see Chapter 2: Processing Timeframes in this Part).
If a group fails to appear for the first interview, the interview will be rescheduled without requiring the group to provide good cause for failing to appear. If the group does not appear for the rescheduled interview, the Department need not schedule any further interviews unless the group requests another interview. |
Waiver of Face-to-Face Interview 1.8.2
| MA |
Substitute a telephone interview for the face to face interview (if such an interview is generally required) when:
- The applicant cannot come into the office due to medical condition,
- An authorized representative is not available, and
- The center manager or designee approves the waiver on a case by case basis.
Waiver of the face to face interview does not exempt the household from the verification requirements discussed in Part IV: Non-Financial Eligibility, Part V: Program Requirements and Sanctions, and Part VI: Financial Eligibility). IMA staff may use alternative verification procedures to assure timely receipt of benefits in these cases. Applicants may substitute a collateral contact in lieu of documentary verification.
Waiver of the face to face interview will not affect the length of the household's certification period.
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| TANF |
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| GC |
See MA.
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| FS |
The face to face interview is waived upon request by any household which is unable to appoint an authorized representative and which has no household member able to come into the service center because they are 60 years of age or older or are mentally or physically handicapped. The Department may also waive the face to face interview on a case by case basis for any household which is unable to come to a service center because of transportation difficulties or similar hardships which the Department determines warrant a waiver of the office interview. Hardship conditions include, but are not limited to:
- Illness,
- Care of an ill or incapacitated household member,
- Hardship due to prolonged severe weather, or
- Work or training hours which preclude an in office interview. (Note, however, that such customers should be encouraged to use extended hours services available at specific service centers.)
The Department determines if the transportation difficulty or hardship reported by a household warrants a waiver of the office interview and documents in the case file why a request for a waiver was granted or denied. Waiver of the face-to face interview is considered only after the exhaustion of all other measures such as rescheduling the interview. Households for whom the face to face interview is waived will receive a telephone interview.
Waiver of the face to face interview does not exempt the household from the verification requirements discussed in Part IV: Non-Financial Eligibility, Part V: Program Requirements and Sanctions, and Part VI: Financial Eligibility). IMA staff may use alternative verification procedures to assure timely receipt of benefits in these cases. Applicants may substitute a collateral contact in lieu of documentary verification.
Waiver of the face to face interview will not affect the length of the household's certification period. |
Screening for the Program on Work, Employment, and Responsiblity 1.9
| MA |
N/A
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| TANF |
At the point of TANF application , the Preliminary Assessment form should be used by the SSR to identify heads of households who face physical and/or mental incapacities that interfere with their ability to participate in countable work activities. If the head of household in a single-parent unit or if either parent in a two-parent family appears to have incapacities that preclude work, the first step is to request a medical evaluation. MA eligibility should be established or verified as soon as possible so that a medical evaluation can be completed quickly. Neither TANF applicants nor recipients can apply directly for POWER. Eligibility is based on the SSR's identification of a possible incapacity and subsequent referral of the individual for a medical evaluation.
The TANF application should be processed following normal application processing procedures while the individual completes (or decides not to complete) the medical evaluation form and the MRT's decision is pending. If the individual is found eligible for POWER, the case will be converted at that point.
Individuals should be exempted from work participation pending a POWER eligibility decision. If POWER eligibility is denied but the individual still meets an exemption criteria, exemption status should continue.
It is the recipient's responsibility to return the medical evaluation to the SSR for a determination by the MRT. The recipient has 90 days from the date the SSR issues the medical evaluation to submit the completed evaluation to the SSR to receive consideration under POWER. The SSR then submits the medical evaluation to the MRT for a determination of incapacity or disability. The MRT must specify the period of incapacity/disability which cannot exceed 12 months at one time, but there is no limit on the total months a case can be covered under POWER. Recipients of POWER are not subject to the TANF 60-month lifetime limit.
If the MRT determines that the head of household is eligible for POWER, the eligibility date for placement into a POWER unit will be the first day of the month in which the medical evaluation was issued to the recipient (see Section 3.10: Program on Work, Employment, and Responsibility (POWER) in Part VIII for a further discussion of POWER).
POWER recipients will receive a referral to APRA or RSA as appropriate. POWER recipients who fail to comply with APRA or RSA program requirements will be placed back in the TANF program.
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| GC |
N/A
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| FS |
N/A |
Medicaid Application Process for Outstation Locations 1.10
| MA |
Outstation locations have been established at all disproportionate share hospitals (DSH) and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) that participate in the Medicaid program and provide services to Medicaid eligible pregnant women and children.
Each outstation location is responsible for receiving and the initial processing of Medicaid applications. Initial processing means taking applications, assisting applicants in completing the applications, providing information and referrals, obtaining required documentation, assuring the information contained on the application is complete, and conducting any necessary interviews. It does not include making a determination of eligibility or ineligibility.
The Medicaid applications shall be delivered by each outstation location within five days to the IMA Medicaid Branch, Office of the Branch Chief, 645 H Street, N.E., Third Floor. The applications are logged in and distributed to the appropriate service center for registration and processing.
The Medicaid program will reimburse the hospital and health centers for the reasonable cost of outstation workers. |
| TANF |
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| GC |
N/A
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| FS |
N/A
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