§346-29 - Applications for public assistance; manner, form, conditions.

§346-29 Applications for public assistance;
manner, form, conditions. (a) Applications for public assistance under
this chapter shall be made by the applicant, or by someone acting in the
applicant's behalf, in the manner, place, and form prescribed by the
department.

(b) No applicant or recipient who is found
guilty of fraudulently misrepresenting residence to obtain assistance in two or
more states shall be entitled to public assistance under this chapter for ten
years from date of conviction. No applicant or recipient shall be entitled to
public assistance under this chapter who is a fugitive felon or who is in
violation of a condition of probation or parole or has sufficient income or
other resources to provide a standard above that provided in this chapter, or
who is an inmate of any public institution, except that any inmate of a public
institution who is otherwise eligible for medical assistance and who has been
determined by the medical director of the institution as having a major illness
or medical condition requiring the provision of medical care outside of the
institution may receive assistance under this chapter. An inmate of a public
institution or resident of a medical institution may apply for assistance to
begin after the inmate's discharge from the institution. To enforce this
subsection, the department shall examine each list of inmates within, or newly
admitted to, a correctional facility in the State that is submitted to the
department by the director of public safety pursuant to section 353-12.5,
regardless of the nature of the offense for which an inmate is incarcerated or
the duration of incarceration, to determine whether an inmate is eligible for
public assistance under this chapter.

(1) Disregard the amounts of earned or unearned
income as required or allowed by federal acts and other regulations, to receive
federal funds and disregard from gross earned income twenty per cent plus $200
and a percentage of the remaining balance of earned income consistent with
federal regulations and other requirements;

(2) Consider as net income in all cases the income as
federal acts and other regulations require the department to consider for
receipt of federal funds and may consider the additional income and resources
as these acts and regulations permit to be considered;

(3) For households with minor dependents, disregard a
total of $5,000 in assets and the value of one motor vehicle in determining the
needs of persons for financial assistance; provided that the amount to be
disregarded shall not exceed standards under federally funded financial
assistance programs. This paragraph shall not apply to persons eligible for
federal supplemental security income benefits, aid to the aged, blind or
disabled, or general assistance to households without minor dependents. In
determining the needs of persons eligible for federal supplemental security
income benefits, aid to the aged, blind, or disabled, or general assistance to
households without minor dependents, the department shall apply all the
resource retention and exclusion requirements under the federal supplemental
security income program;

(4) Apply the resource retention requirements under
the federal supplemental security income program in determining the needs of a
single person for medical assistance only;

(5) Apply the resource retention requirements under
the federal supplemental security income program in determining the needs of a
family of two persons for medical assistance only and an additional $250 for
each additional person included in an application for medical assistance only;

(6) Disregard amounts of emergency assistance granted
under section 346-65;

(7) Not consider as income or resources any payment
for services to or on behalf of, or any benefit received by, a participant
under the first-to-work program of part XI, other than wages. Wages earned by
a participant while participating in the first-to-work program shall be
considered income of the participant, unless the wages are excluded or
disregarded under any other law;

(8) Not consider as income or resources payment made
to eligible individuals, eligible surviving spouses, surviving children or surviving
parents as specified under Title I of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, Public
Law 100-383, which made restitution to individuals of Japanese ancestry who
were interned during World War II;

(9) Allow the community spouse of an individual
residing in a medical institution to maintain countable resources to the
maximum allowed by federal statutes or regulations with provisions for
increases, as allowed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services by means of
indexing, court order, or fair hearing decree, without jeopardizing the
eligibility of the institutionalized spouse for medical assistance;

(10) Allow an individual residing in a medical
institution to contribute toward the support of the individual's community
spouse, thereby enabling the community spouse to maintain the monthly maximum
income allowed by federal statutes or regulations, with provisions for
increases as allowed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services by means of
indexing, court order, or fair hearing decree;

(11) Consider the transfer of assets from the
applicant's name to another name within the specified time period as required
by federal regulations, known as the "lookback" period, prior to the
application for medical assistance for care in a nursing home or other
long-term care facility. Pursuant to rules adopted under chapter 91, the
director may attribute any assets that have been transferred within the
required federal "lookback" period from the applicant if the director
determines that transfer of certain assets was made solely to make the
applicant eligible for assistance under this chapter; and

(12) Not consider as income or resources any funds
deposited into a family self-sufficiency escrow account on behalf of a
participant under a federal housing choice voucher family self-sufficiency
program as required or allowed under federal law.

(d) In determining eligibility for medical
assistance, the department shall require from all applicants and recipients the
assignment of any benefits due to a third party liability. Any rights or
amounts so assigned shall be applied against the cost of medical care paid
under this chapter.

(e) The director shall adopt rules pursuant to
chapter 91 defining assets and to determine eligibility for medical assistance;
provided that the cash surrender value of life insurance policies owned by
persons included in an application shall be treated as assets. [L 1941, c 296,
pt of §1; RL 1945, §4834; am L 1951, c 169, §§1, 2; RL 1955, §108-15; am L
1962, c 6, §2; HRS §346-29; am L 1969, c 173, §3; am L 1970, c 105, §5; am L
1972, c 32, §1; am L 1975, c 145, §1(2); am L 1976, c 73, §2; am L 1979, c 52,
§5; am L 1982, c 67, §1 and c 216, §1; am L 1984, c 95, §5; am L 1986, c 109,
§1 and c 160, §4; am L 1987, c 345, §3; am L 1989, c 60, §1 and c 395, §1; am L
1990, c 322, §1; am L 1994, c 187, §1; am L 1996, c 300, §§3, 6; am L 1997, c
200, §§4, 9, 11; am L 1998, c 127, §§4, 5; am L 2007, c 237, §2; am L 2009, c
188, §3]

Case Notes

Income tax refund is not "income". 396 F. Supp.
375.

Department's food stamp regulation term "unusual
expense" includes cost of replacing casualty losses not due to recipient's
negligence and which are verifiable. 421 F. Supp. 24.

In determining need, State must consider reasonable work
related expenses of applicant for assistance. 438 F. Supp. 238.

Validity of policies and provisions contained in Hawaii
Public Welfare Manual for evaluating equity that recipients of AFDC benefits
may have in their home property while receiving assistance. 475 F. Supp. 368.

Regulations providing that applications be processed within a
stated period require good faith compliance that is reasonable in view of the
resources available to the department to carry out welfare functions. 54 H.
125, 504 P.2d 1217.