EE Indian Payments Excluded Under Public Law

 

Policy

Certain payments and income of American Indians and Alaska Natives are not counted when determining eligibility for Medical Assistance programs.

1) Excluded payments

Payments made to American Indian Tribes or groups under Public Laws. See the Definitions section of this policy for a list of these payments.

2) Excluded income

Income derived from resources and usage rights that are excluded under federal law, including:

• Indian Land Lease or Royalty Payments

• Income earned from the sale of products gathered or harvested under federally protected rights or from land held in trust by the Tribe or Secretary of the Interior.

• Income earned from the lease or use of resources that have unique religious, spiritual, traditional, or cultural significance, or the sale of products gathered from the resource.

• Income earned from rights that support subsistence or a traditional lifestyle according to tribal law or custom.

See Indian Income from Protected Rights and Resources for examples of these income types.

 

If the payment is for...	And the program is...	Then the treatment is...
Land held in trust by a Tribe or under supervision of the Secretary of the Interior	All programs	Excluded.
Land held by the person	ALTCS SSI-MAO MSP AHCCCS FTW	Counted as unearned income.
	Adult Caretaker Relative Pregnant Woman Child KidsCare	Excluded.

 

Definitions

Term	Definition
Indian Land Lease or Royalty Payments	Payments for the lease of land held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior. Some individuals own or are allotted part of the trust lands that they may lease to others for use or to harvest or extract natural resources. Sources of these leases or royalty payments include but are not limited to: Grazing rights; Fishing rights; Mineral rights; Oil rights; Timber rights; and Water rights.
Payments made to American Indian Tribes or groups under Public Laws	Payments made to tribes throughout the United States under a variety of Public Laws. These payments include: Settlement Fund payments to members of the Hopi and Navajo Tribes under Section 22 of Public Law 93-531 as amended by Public Law 96-305 (effective December 22, 1964). Judgment funds to members of the San Carlos Apache Indian Tribe of Arizona under Section 6 of Public Law 96 – 134 and Public Law 96 – 95 (effective December 16, 1981). Per capita distributions of judgment funds to members of the Tohono O’odham (Papago) Tribe of Arizona under Sections 6 and 8(d) of Public Law 96 – 408 (effective January 3, 1983). Settlement Fund payments under the Claims Resettlement Act of 2010, Public Law 111-291 (effective December 7, 2009) Settlement Fund payments under Elouise Cobell et al. v. Ken Salazar et al., United States District Court, District of Columbia, Civil Action No. 96-1285

 

Proof

Because this income is excluded, only the source of the income is verified. Types of proof include, but are not limited to:

• Contracts or government documents that show the source of the income is trust land or a federally protected usage rights;

• Letter from the Tribe; or

• Collateral contact with the Tribe.

 

Legal Authority

Program	Legal Authorities
All programs	20 CFR, Appendix to Subpart K of Part 416, Section IV 20 CFR 416.1124(b) Public Law 103-66 Public Law 111-5, Section 5006