AGO 1990-030.

• Court: Connecticut

Connecticut Attorney General Opinions 1990. AGO 1990-030. 1990Opinion No. 1990-030Honorable Lorraine M. AronsonCommissionerDepartment of Income Maintenance110 Bartholomew AvenueHartford, Connecticut 06106Dear Commissioner Aronson: You recently requested the opinion of the Attorney General on several questions relating to the impact of the federal Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 (MCCA), Pub.L. 100-360, on your department's determinations of eligibility for assistance under the Title XIX medical assistance program ("Medicaid"). Before stating your questions and our opinion, it is necessary to provide background on how Medicaid eligibility determinations were affected by MCCA.BackgroundThe Department of Income Maintenance is authorized to administer the Medicaid Program in Connecticut pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. e§17-134a, which requires the program to be administered in accordance with the requirements of federal law. In 1988 the Medicare Catastrophic Act made significant changes in the requirements of federal law applicable to the treatment of income and resources of spouses when one of the spouses is institutionalized and is an applicant for assistance.1 Prior to the MCCA, only the income and the resources belonging to the institutionalized spouse were considered in determining his/her eligibilty for assistance. Section 303 of MCCA added section 1924 to the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. e§1396r-5, which requires the eligibility of the institutionalized spouse to be determined by reference to the couple's combined countable resources owned by either of the spouses individually or jointly at the beginning of the most recent continuous period of institutionalization. Specifically, MCCA requires the institutionalized spouse's eligibility to be determined by reference to the couple's combined countable resources minus a permitted "community spouse resource allowance". 42 U.S.C. e§1396r-5(c)(2). The permitted community spouse resource allowance is equal to the greater of $12,000 or one-half of the couple's combined resources; however, the community spouse resource allowance may not exceed $60,000. 42 U.S.C. e§1396r-5(f)(2). As a result, an institutionalized spouse may now be determined ineligible for Medicaid as a result of the community spouse's ownership of resources. Section 1924 of the Act, as amended by MCCA, however, provides as an exception to the foregoing rule that: The institutionalized spouse shall not be ineligible by reason of resources determined under paragraph (2) to be available for the cost of care where§-- (A) the institutionalized spouse has assigned to the State any rights to support from the community spouse; (B) the institutionalized spouse lacks the ability to execute an assignment due to physical or mental impairment but the State has the right to bring a support proceeding against a community spouse without such assignment... 42 U.S.C. e§1396r-5(c)(3). The questions that you have posed relate to what extent the foregoing "assignment of support rights" exception applies in Connecticut as a result of Connecticut's statutory support obligations.IYou first inquire whether Conn. Gen. Stat. e§17-82b and e§17-82e "have legal sufficiency to cover the assignment of assets or does it only cover support rights to income?" Our understanding of your question is that you are asking whether Conn. Gen. Stat. e§17-82b and e§17-82e provide the State of Connecticut with the statutory...