To be eligible for the Medicare Part D prescription drug program’s Extra Help (also known as low-income subsidy), an individual must have income and resources below the limits established by the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA). The following sections define resources and explain how to count them for purposes of determining eligibility for the Medicare Part D Extra Help in the prescription drug program.

Resources are cash and other assets that an individual owns that could convert to cash to be used for their support and maintenance.

NOTE: Public Law 110-275 (The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008), changes the rules for counting the cash surrender value (CSV) of a life insurance policy as a resource for Extra Help applications.

The CSV of a life insurance policy does not count as a resource for:

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  applications effectively filed on or after January 1, 2010; and

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  initial determinations that do not become effective before January 1, 2010.

An example of an initial determination that becomes effective on or after January 1, 2010, is a periodic or cyclical redetermination initiated in August 2009.

For purposes of determining eligibility for Extra Help, the following are countable resources.

For purposes of determining eligibility for the Extra Help, the following non-liquid assets are not countable resources:

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  all vehicles (autos, trucks, motorcycles, boats, snowmobiles, etc.);

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  household goods and personal effects;

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  irrevocable burial trusts; and

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  irrevocable burial contracts.

For purposes of determining eligibility for the Extra Help, we do not consider transfers of resources. Therefore, it is not necessary to ask an Extra Help applicant if they transferred resources. If an applicant alleges a transfer, it is not necessary to develop the transfer.

For Extra Help purposes, a trust may be a countable resource. Generally, we follow SSI rules when determining whether a trust is a resource for Extra Help purposes. Unlike SSI, we do not consider transfers of resources when determining eligibility for Extra Help in situations where funds have been placed into trusts or disbursed from trusts.

In addition, it is necessary to consider rebuttal if the individual has a trust and alleges that the funds in the trust cannot be accessed within 20 workdays.

We presume that the types of resources described in HI 03030.001C.1. in this section can be converted to cash within 20 workdays and are countable liquid resources. However, in some cases, such assets may not be convertible within 20 workdays. If the individual alleges that they have an otherwise countable asset that cannot be sold or converted to cash within 20 workdays, the individual may seek to rebut the presumption that the asset is a countable liquid resource.

When the individual alleges owning a resource that cannot be sold or converted to cash within 20 workdays, use the following procedure.

1. 1. 

   Document on the MAPS Report of Contact screen, either

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     the individual’s efforts to sell, and the nature of the evidence provided by the individual to support the rebuttal; or

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     that the asset is one of those listed in HI 03030.001G.2.a. in this section, which doesn’t require evidence.

2. 2. 

   Document the adjudicator’s decision on the MAPS Report of Contact screen (e.g., rebuttal successful – asset not counted as a resource, or rebuttal unsuccessful – asset is counted as a resource.)

3. 3. 

   If the rebuttal is successful, make the necessary input on MAPS to delete the resource.

On November 6, 2009, the President signed the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 (WHBA), which extends the deadline for purchasing a home under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). WHBA also established a smaller tax credit, up to $6,500, for homebuyers who have lived in their principal residence 5 out of the last 8 years and purchased a new principal residence. These individuals are “deemed” first-time homebuyers for purposes of eligibility for the tax credit.

The first-time homebuyer’s and deemed first-time homebuyer’s tax credits are countable as resources and not excluded by law for determining eligibility for Medicare Part D Extra Help.

NOTE: For more information on counting the first-time homebuyer’s or deemed first-time homebuyer’s tax credit as a resource, see the SSI instructions in GN 02820.025N.

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  SI 01110.300 - Determining Liquidity/Nonliquidity of Resources

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  SI 01110.305 - Resources Assumed to be Liquid

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  SI 01120.200 - Trusts – General Including Trusts Established Prior to 01/01/00, Trusts Established with the Assets of Third Parties and Trusts not Subject to Section 1613(e) of the Social Security Act

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  SI 01140.100 - Non-Home Real Property

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  SI 01140.200 - Checking and Savings Accounts

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  SI 01140.210 - Time Deposits

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  SI 01140.220 - Stocks

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  SI 01140.230 - Mutual Fund Shares

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  SI 01140.240 - U.S. Savings Bonds

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  SI 01140.300 - Promissory Notes and Property Agreements