FS Deductions (child care & medical)

Below are links to MLRI's "at a glance" charts for advocates to get a quick "guestimate" on the amount of monthly SNAP benefits by typical households. (These charts are not a substitute for dong the SNAP math in individual cases). : Households with older adults or persons with…

An Advocate's Guide to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Massachusetts By Patricia Baker and Victoria Negus, January 2024 Edition (Updated May 2024) An indispensable handbook for all who need to know about the SNAP program in Massachusetts. The SNAP…

Households can self-declare their child care or adult dependent care costs, unless the information provided by the household is questionable. This can be done on the SNAP application form, on a separate signed and dated statement, or over the phone with…

What is the SNAP Medical Expense Deduction? The medical expense deduction is an income deduction that eligible households can claim to boost their monthly SNAP benefits. Out-of-pocket health care expenses can be claimed by older adults age 60+ and individuals with severe disabilities.…

The purpose of this transmittal is to remind staff that they must explore all transportation costs related to medical care and dependent care with clients. 

This DTA brochure lists deductible medical expenses for SNAP applicants and recipients who are seniors or disabled.  Note that the standard medical deduction of $155 is used for SNAP households with with medical costs between $35.01 and $190 per month. If the SNAP…

The questions below pertain to SNAP medical expense deductions and the verification of these deductions for elderly or disabled clients. For additional policy information on this topic, refer to 106 CMR 364.400(C). Q. 1. Do I need approval from a doctor before deducting over-the-counter…

A household that includes an elderly or disabled member, as defined in 106 CMR 361.210, is allowed a medical deduction when the elderly or disabled household member incurs monthly un-reimbursed medical expenses in excess of $35 a month. DTA recently received clarification from the FNS about the…

From the Hotline If you have any questions on this column or other policy and procedural material, please have your Hotline designee call the Policy Hotline at 617-348-8478. Q. 1. Are payments a SNAP client is making to cover her recent dental procedure considered an allowable medical expense…

Q. 1. On January 30, 2014, a Verification Checklist (VC-1) requesting proofs of my client’s medical expenses was issued with a due date of February 9, 2014. On the VC-1, I listed the request for medical expenses under “Other” in the “Other Information” block…

To help your clients INCREASE their monthly food stamps (and to encourage more households to apply and get higher benefits), check out the two links below for more information.  Medical Expenses deduction: Households with an elder (age 60 or over) or disabled member can claim a wide range…

Overview In March 2008, the Department received a waiver of medical expense deduction rules from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. This allowed the Department to provide a Standard Medical Deduction (SMD) to eligible elderly or disabled clients who verified more than $35 in monthly medical…

Overview Medex is a Medicare supplement policy that is offered through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA). BCBSMA has announced Medex premium rate changes for the following non-group plans: Bronze (Supplement 1), Core, Gold, Silver, Standard, Basic, Core Plus, Basic No Rx and…

From the Hotline If you have any questions on this column or other policy and procedural material, please have your Hotline designee call the Policy Hotline at 617-348-8478. Q. 1. I know that the cash surrender value of a client’s life insurance policy is considered a countable asset in…

FYI Increase in Federal Mileage Rate Effective immediately, TAO staff must use the federal mileage rate of 56.5 cents per mile when calculating allowable transportation costs to be used as a medical deduction or a dependent care deduction for SNAP purposes. The new federal mileage rate…

Q. My SNAP client has been on Annual Reporting for the past few years. Today she called the TAO and reported that her two sons had moved out of her house. Should I indicate this change on BEACON? A. Yes. The action to remove a dependent for nonfinancial reasons may be completed on BEACON at any…

Q. When must the Assignment of Support Rights, Cooperation with Child Support, or Good Cause Claim T-A34/36 (Rev. 10/2009) form get completed? A. Complete this form:  when, during the application process, the applicant indicates that the dependent child’s parent is absent; and/or  when a…

Clarification for Funeral and Final Disposition Payments for SSI and TAFDC Clients TAO staff are reminded that if the deceased is not identified by a relative or funeral director as a current or former SSI, TAFDC or EAEDC client, before establishing the deceased as an EAEDC client on BEACON,…

Q. My client applied for TAFDC today, February 3rd. She recently stopped working and received her last pay from work on January 27th. Do I count this earned income in determining her eligibility or grant amount? A. No. If this client is not currently employed and has received her last pay before…

Many elderly and/or disabled SNAP clients have difficulty obtaining verification of medical expenses, for a variety of reasons. Additionally, due to privacy issues, it may be impossible for a case manager or authorized representative to assist a client in obtaining medical expense…

DTA guidance as a result of trainings to Department of Mental Health (DMH) case managers.  Field Operations memo includes refresher information on SNAP eligiblity including a number of Q &As on the scope of SNAP medical expenses allowed (e.g, costs of maintenance…

Food Stamp medical expense deductions for elderly and disabled recipients: Medical expenses do not need to have been paid yet in order to qualify as deductible; hearing aids are deductible; choice of deducting all expenses in one month or averaging larger one-time over rest of certification period.…

Obsoleted by Ops Memo 2014-16 (2/20/2014). Below is field guidance from DTA announcing the new "standard medical deduction" for elder/disabled FS recipients. USDA approved the Massachusetts request for a federal waiver in late December at the best of the FS Improvement Coalition and…

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts has announced Medex premium rate changes for the following non-group plans: Basic, Bronze, Core, Core Plus, Gold, Silver, and Standard. These changes are effective on March 15, 2008. This memo: identifies the non-group plans that have changed and the…

Food Stamps: health insurance premium as excess medical expense deduction when premium is paid by spouse and/or is for more than one person; TAFDC: "window immigrant" status for purposes of exception to sponsor deeming requirement.  Q. My food stamp client who is elderly and…

Issues that arise in Food Stamp cases of recipients who live in group homes, including deduction of Food Stamp amount from net rent and notation of whether part of rent is attributed to heating expenses.

What case workers should do when some members of a household are eligible immigrants and some are ineligible immigrants for Food Stamp purposes; How case workers should determine and enter medical expenses.

Food Stamp regulations allow a client to choose to average nonrecurring medical expenses over the certification period or have the nonrecurring medical expenses applied as a deduction for a single month. For the client to make an informed decision, the AU Manager must understand the implications of…

The Food Stamp Medical Deductions Job Aid was designed to be a tool to assist AU Managers in identifying eligible medical expense deductions. This new job aid, developed by the Food Stamp Unit, is posted in Policy Online under the Job Aids heading. Verified medical expenses that exceed $35 a month…

While interviewing elderly or disabled food stamp recipients, it is important to remember to ask about any non-reimbursed incurred medical expenses, even if the expenses are unpaid. Maximizing benefits for these individuals is especially important as health care costs can be prohibitive and can…

It is only at application, redetermination, or recertification that an unverified expense must be zeroed out. The FYI provides details.

Excess medical costs include reasonable cost of transportation and lodging to get medical treatment.

This memo provides instructions for implementing the Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Program in 2005. Field Operations Memo 2004-43, dated November 2, 2004 is now obsolete. The instructions in that memo were inaccurate as a result of subsequent USDA guidance. Based on those instructions, there…

SSI Special Benefits for disaster and moving; TAFDC exemptions in two-parent families where one parent is disabled; FS work requirement and school employees over summer vacation; transportation and lodging as part of excess medical deductions for FS.

DES Disability Tracking Forms from TAFDC and EAEDC programs qualify recipients as disabled under the Food Stamp rules if they say that the person meets or equals SSI criteria (codes 100 and 110). This can result in waived face to face interview requirement, no gross income test, uncapped shelter…