I Financial Accounts

Revised 06/11/2025

Policy

In general, the full amount of the funds in a financial account is counted as a resource to each person listed on the account title.

NOTE Account balances held with an electronic payment service are considered financial accounts.

For more information about DirectExpress accounts, see How to Verify a DirectExpress Account Balance.

Exceptions:

Specific exceptions to the general policy on financial accounts are listed in the following table:

If…	Then…
It is a pooled account	Only the customer’s share of the funds is counted.
The account is owned by more than one person applying for or receiving AHCCCS	The funds in the account are divided by the number of account owners who are applying for or receiving AHCCCS to determine the customer’s share.
It is a conservatorship account	Generally, counted for the ward, and not counted for the conservator or guardian. See MA704D for policy on ownership involving an agent. NOTE The funds may be counted even when withdrawals require court approval. Denial of a specific withdrawal does not mean that the funds are not available.
It is a 529 Educational Savings Account (ESA)	The funds are counted for the owner of the account. NOTE Funds in an ESA are excluded for the listed beneficiary, because the beneficiary does not have access to the money.
It is a 530 Coverdell Education Savings Account	The funds are completely excluded for the owner and the beneficiary. NOTE The funds are not counted for the owner because they are acting as an agent for the beneficiary on the account.
It is a Flexible Spending Arrangement or Flexible Spending Account (FSA)	Excluded.
It is a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Medical Savings Account (MSA)	Excluded when the funds in the account may only be used for qualified medical expenses, and receipts must be submitted to the financial institution before funds can be disbursed. Counted for the owner of the account when the owner may withdraw funds for non-medical purposes. In this case, disbursements from the account are considered conversions of a resource (MA701).
Medicare Flex Card	Counted as a resource in the month following the month the Medicare Advantage Plan funded the card. Disbursements from the account are considered conversions of a resource (MA701). NOTE The funding of the prepaid debt card by the Medicare Advantage Plan is excluded income to the owner of the Medicare Flex Card in the month it is received for both MAGI and Non-MAGI programs.
It is an ABLE account	The full amount in the account is an excluded resource. NOTE An ABLE account does not need to be opened in Arizona to be excluded. The treatment of withdrawals from an ABLE account depends on the type of expense: Funds withdrawn for a non-qualifying expense are counted as a resource in the month of the withdrawal; Unspent funds withdrawn for a qualified housing expense are counted the month following the month of the withdrawal; and Unspent funds withdrawn for any other qualifying expense are excluded when they are identifiable from the customer’s bank statement. Do not count ABLE account distributions as income of the designated beneficiary. Contributions made to an ABLE account are not counted as income to the designated beneficiary. When a customer reports having an ABLE account, see How to Review an ABLE Account.
The funds in the account are unavailable	Excluded when the customer cannot legally access and use the funds for his or her own support (see MA703A for policy and proof).
The customer rebuts ownership of some or all of the funds.	Excluded when the customer provides proof that the funds belong to another person AND that the customer can no longer access those funds.

NOTE There are certain funds that are excluded by law and are excluded when determining the value of a financial account. For a detailed list and policy see MA705BB.

When the full value of financial accounts puts the customer over the resource limit, see Determining Counted Value of Financial Accounts for the Budget Month.

Definitions

Term	Definition
ABLE Account	An account that meets the requirements of the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014. ABLE accounts have tax advantages and allow an eligible person to save funds for the disability-related expenses of the account’s designated beneficiary.
Agent	A person or organization acting as a fiduciary for another person. This includes a power of attorney, representative payee, conservator, or guardian.
Bank Statement	An official, detailed statement or online transaction listing from a financial institution that shows the person's name, account number, statement date, and all the account activity over a certain period of time (usually a month) for each bank account held by a person or business.
Conservatorship Account	An account in which a person or institution has been appointed by a court to manage the resources held in the account for a ward. The ward retains ownership of all resources placed in a conservatorship account.
Educational Savings Account (ESA)	A trust or custodial account created for the purpose of paying qualified education expenses of the account’s designated beneficiary. There are two types of ESA’s: 529 Education Savings Account 530 Coverdell Education Savings Account The account must be titled or designated as an ESA when it is established.
Electronic Payment Service	A service that allows money to be sent electronically between users. Examples include PayPal, Stripe, Google Pay, Zelle, etc.
Flexible Spending Arrangement or Flexible Spending Account (FSA)	An employer benefit used to reimburse employees for qualified medical expenses.
Fiduciary	A person legally appointed or authorized to manage a person’s income and resources for the benefit of the other person.
Financial Account	Any account that holds funds that can be used to purchase food or shelter. These include formal accounts like bank checking and savings accounts, as well as informal accounts like a community cooperative for savings and loans.
Health Savings Account/ Medical Savings Account	A tax-exempt account used to pay for qualified medical expenses.
Medicare Flex Card	A prepaid debit card funded by a Medicare Advantage Plan is used to pay for qualified medical expenses and in some cases special supplemental benefits such as food and produce, meal delivery and nonmedical transportation.
Pooled accounts	Financial accounts containing funds for more than one person. These accounts are usually titled to an agency or institution that manages funds for several clients. Examples include patient trust, DDD and public fiduciary accounts.
Qualified Expense	Any expenses related to the eligible individual's blindness or disability which are made for the benefit of the designated beneficiary, including the following expenses: Education; Housing; Transportation; Employment training and support; Assistive technology and related services; Health; Prevention and wellness; Financial management and administrative services; Legal fees; Expenses for ABLE account oversight and monitoring; Funeral and burial; and Basic living expenses.
Ward	The person for whom an agent has authority to act. This term is not limited to "ward" in the legal sense.

Proof

Proof of ownership and account value is first obtained through State Data Services Hubs. When the hubs verify account ownership and value, no further proof is needed for the account unless both of the following are met:

The customer is resource ineligible using that amount; and
The customer is reporting resources below the limit.

Proof may be needed for deposits that indicate potential income (MA604C) or withdrawals that may be uncompensated transfers (MA901).

The AVS case must be reviewed for new information immediately prior to dispositioning ALTCS eligibility. For details on how to review, request and use AVS information, see Verifying Financial Accounts with the Asset Verification System (AVS). For help determining resource values using AVS see Reconciling Resource Values with AVS.

See Identifying Transfers when there are flagged AVS decreases. See Reasonable Compatibility for Proof of Income from Electronic Sources when there are flagged AVS increases that may be income.

When proof is not available through the State Data Service Hubs; the customer must provide proof of ownership and value of the funds in each account. For excluded financial accounts, only proof of the account type is needed.

Other proof for financial accounts may include:

Bank statements, including on-line bank statements, that includes all transactions from the 1st day of the month to the last day of the month;

A withdrawal line item on a bank statement that is not explained by the customer’s lifestyle or living arrangement must be explored as a potential transfer (MAP901A). This includes withdrawals sent via electronic payment services.

Request for Proof of Financial Accounts (DE-203) form completed by the financial institution;
Written statement from the financial institution;
Account ledgers from a nursing facility, DDD Account Statement or Public Fiduciary account ledgers;
A collateral contact to the financial institution;
An account balance slip from an ATM machine, which contains enough information to show account ownership, when combined with other proof identifying the account;
For an ESA, the account details, and terms, contract, or IRS form 1099-Q;
For an FSA, an account statement or a current pay stub showing a salary deduction deposited into the FSA; and
For an HSA or MSA, a copy of the account terms.

Proof of ABLE account withdrawals

The customer must provide proof of how funds withdrawn from an ABLE account were used or their intended use, only when the customer is over resources to show the funds should not be counted in the resource determination. Proof includes:

An accounting or written statement from a state program or institution administering ABLE accounts that monitors and validates withdrawals from the account;
Receipts;
Estimates; and
Written statement from the person or organization that includes all of the following:
- Who received the funds;
- The date of the payment; and
- The purpose of the payment or the service that was provided.

Proof rebutting account ownership

To rebut the assumption of full or partial ownership of an account, the following information is needed for each account:

Account records showing deposits and withdrawals for all months in which ownership is being rebutted; and
Account records or statements from the financial institution showing the customer’s portion of the funds (if any) have been removed from the account, and that the customer is no longer listed as an owner or signer, and
The customer and each other account owner must complete and sign a Financial Account Ownership Form (DE-117), under penalty of perjury.

The DE-117 must contain all of the following:

Who owns the funds in the account;
Why there is a joint account;
Whose income was deposited and withdrawn from the account; and
How withdrawals have been spent.

NOTE If the only other account holder is incompetent or a minor, the customer must provide a statement that meets these requirements from a person who was aware of the circumstances surrounding the establishment of the account.

When all proof to rebut account ownership is obtained see Processing a Financial Account Rebuttal.

See Financial Account Rebuttal Examples.

Legal Authority

Program

Legal Authority

ALTCS

26 USC 529A (ABLE accounts)

42 USC 1382b(a)(15)

20 CFR 416.1201(a) and (b)

20 CFR 416.1208

20 CFR 416.1210(u)