Donations to the institution are not third party payments. They do not count as ISM.
Use the following procedures if the issue of a donation is present:
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a.
Do not routinely inquire about, or document, the existence of donations to the institution
on behalf of the eligible individual.
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b.
If a question material to the ISM determination arises about whether funds provided
to the institution are a charitable donation or a third party payment for food and
shelter, contact the institution and determine the nature of the funds in question.
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c.
Accept the institution's allegation without further development and document the file,
using the Report of Contact page in the SSI Claims System or, for non-MSSICS cases,
the paper SSA-5002 (Report of Contact).
EXAMPLE: Donations to a private nonprofit institution
Frank, an eligible individual, lives at the Mount Royal Retirement Home. A religious
organization operates the home and it is tax-exempt under section 501(c) of the Internal
Revenue Code.
During the interview, Frank tells the claims specialist (CS) that several of Frank's
relatives send money regularly to Mount Royal.
The CS contacts Mount Royal and learns that neither Frank nor any third party pays
for their food and shelter.
Upon admission, the retirement home informs relatives of the residents that it costs
$500 per month per resident and asks them to contribute whatever they can afford to
the facility. NOTE:The facility does not send bills to the relatives and the facility does not maintain
billing accounts for the individual residents.
The CS determines that the funds provided by Frank's relatives are donations as defined
in SI 00835.710B.3. Therefore, such payments are not countable as ISM.
Since neither Mr. Stone nor any third party pays for Frank's food and shelter, the
CS must determine whether to count the food and shelter provided by the institution
as ISM or to exclude it under the criteria for the “Church amendment” or under the
SMA exclusion in SI 00830.605.