O Income Changes

Revised 08/03/2021

Policy

Customers must report all changes in income for themselves and anyone else included in their budget group. See MA602 for the people included in the budget group for each AHCCCS Medical Assistance (MA) program. Changes in income may also be found through electronic data matches. A change in income includes any of the following:

How often the income is received;
The amount of income received; and
The source of the income.

Impact of Change in Income

Increases or decreases in income may affect the customer in different ways depending on the program under which the customer is receiving benefits:

When the customer receives...	And the income change is for the...	Then the income change may affect the customer’s…
ALTCS	Customer; Customer’s spouse Customer or spouse’s dependent children	Income eligibility; or Share of Cost (SOC). An income change may cause the customer’s countable income to be greater than the ALTCS income limit. In this case, an Income-Only Trust may help the customer become eligible. See Providing Special Treatment Trust Information to Customers for more information.
Freedom to Work (FTW) – ALTCS	Customer; Customer’s spouse Customer or spouse’s dependent children	Income eligibility; SOC; or Monthly premium.
SSI-MAO Medicare Savings Program (MSP)	Customer; Customer’s spouse; Customer or spouse’s dependent children; or Customer’s parent (when customer is a minor)	Income eligibility; or MA program.
Freedom to Work (FTW)	Customer; Customer’s spouse; Customer or spouse’s dependent children; or Customer’s parent (when customer is a minor)	Income eligibility; MA program; or Monthly premium.
Adult; Caretaker Relative Child	Anyone in the customer’s MAGI budget group (See MA602D)	Income eligibility.
Pregnant Woman	Anyone in the customer’s MAGI budget group (See MA602D)	MA program. NOTE Increases in income that happen after the customer is approved as a Pregnant Woman do not affect eligibility.
KidsCare	Anyone in the customer’s MAGI budget group (See MA602D)	Income eligibility; MA program; or Monthly premium.
Transitional Medical Assistance/Continuous Coverage (TMA/CC)	Anyone in the customer’s MAGI budget group (See MA602D)	MA program. NOTE When income increases after a TMA period or CC is approved, no action is taken until the next renewal.
Young Adult Transitional Insurance (YATI)	Anyone in the customer’s MAGI budget group (See MA602D)	MA program. NOTE There is no income limit for YATI. Do not deny or stop MA for failure to provide proof of income.

NOTE A change in income only affects Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program (BCCTP) or YATI when the customer’s income decreases enough that he or she qualifies for another MA program.

Definitions

Term	Definition
Income	Income is either earned or unearned. There are many types of income within each category of income. Different policies apply to each type of income as described in MA606.

Proof

Changes to income are verified by following the policy related to the specific income type in MA606.

Programs Affected

This applies to all programs except for BCCTP and YATI.

Timeframes

Changes must be reported as soon as the future event becomes known. Unanticipated changes must be reported within 10 calendar days of the date the change occurred.

Legal Authority

Program	Legal Authorities
All Programs, except KidsCare	42 CFR 435.916
ALTCS	AAC R9-28-411
SSI-MAO	AAC R9-22-1501(H) AAC R9-22-1503, 1504 and 1505
Medicare Savings Program (MSP)	AAC R9-29-213
Freedom to Work (FTW)	AAC R9-22-1905
KidsCare	42 CFR 457.315 and 343 R9-31-304 and 308