Revision 17-1; Effective March 15, 2017

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission uses the Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System (TIERS) as the system of record.

7110 TIERS Inquiries

Revision 21-3; Effective September 1, 2021

Use TIERS to determine the financial eligibility status of people applying for services or currently receiving services.

Inquiries can be completed in two different ways in the HHSC Benefits Portal by using:

• PT Inquiry; or
• clicking the application to launch TIERS.

Refer to the HHSC Benefits Portal and TIERS Inquiry Overview, which can be found in the Program Area Learning Management System (PALMS).

Revision 17-1; Effective March 15, 2017

Refer to Appendix XIV, SAVERR/TIERS Type Program Chart, to determine how existing coverage affects eligibility for Community Care for Aged and Disabled Services.

7210 Safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information

Revision 17-1; Effective March 15, 2017

All personally identifiable information (PII) obtained from the Social Security Administration (SSA) must be safeguarded. Wire Third Party Query (WTPY) System, State On Line Query (SOLQ) or other SSA documentation is considered SSA-protected and cannot be printed or kept in the case record.

Staff must not print or file PII (WTPY/SOLQ) printouts in individual case records. Staff must document the date they verified and viewed the online/printed verification, the amount of income and source (WTPY, SOLQ, other) used to verify the information.

If a WTPY or SOLQ report must be printed for a specific purpose such as a legal request or legislative inquiry, the document must not be filed in the case record or sent for imaging. SSA documents must be stored in a central locked filing cabinet only accessible by Texas Health and Human Services Commission authorized staff.

7220 Financial Eligibility Based on Receipt of Medicaid Buy-In Program Services

Revision 18-1; Effective June 15, 2018

Working Texans are able to purchase health insurance through Medicaid by paying a monthly premium through the Medicaid Buy-In (MBI) program. Participants in MBI must meet specific work, disability, resource and income requirements. Not all MBI recipients pay a premium. Premiums are determined on a sliding scale based on an individual's income.

Categorical Eligibility Status Verification

Individuals applying for Long-term Services and Supports (LTSS) who have MBI coverage are categorically eligible for all Title XX Community Care programs, Title XIX Day Activity and Health Services and Primary Home Care.

MBI coverage can only be verified by:

• searching the Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System (TIERS) database for Type Program (TP) 87 coverage (this information will not appear on the System for Applications, Verifications, Eligibility Reports and Referral inquiry screens); or
• an award letter sent to the individual documenting MBI eligibility.

Staff may contact either the regional TIERS coordinator or a Special Workers Assisting with TIERS (SWAT) member to verify an applicant's MBI status.

MBI and Receipt of Waiver Services

An MBI recipient interested in an LTSS waiver program should be added to the appropriate interest list. The case worker can determine if an applicant is an MBI recipient by looking in the TIERS database. The MBI program is coded TP 87, ME-Medicaid Buy-In.

More information about the MBI program is available in Section M-1000, Medicaid Buy-In (MBI) Program, of the Medicaid for the Elderly and People with Disabilities Handbook.

7230 Hierarchy of Individual Identification Data

Revision 17-1; Effective March 15, 2017

Before certifying an applicant who has a previously assigned individual number, compare information in the Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System (TIERS) to the information in the case record. Note and clear any discrepancies with the individual or other staff involved. Individual demographic information (individual name exactly as it appears in Social Security Administration (SSA) records for date of birth, Social Security number and individual number, if available) should not be entered into a database before a State On Line Query (SOLQ), Wired Third Party Query (WTPY) System or other SSA documentation has been received confirming the validity of the data. See Section 7210, Safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information, for important SSA data security information.

The computer system retains only one set of identification information for each individual. When an individual is active in more than one program area, the identification information is shared by the staff involved. Only the staff member with the highest priority over the information can change the identification information. The following priority applies:

• A program area supplying benefits to an individual takes precedence over a program area not supplying benefits to that individual. Example: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) caretaker information takes precedence over TANF payee information; status in group Code 1 (Medical Assistance Only (MAO) recipient) information takes precedence over Code 3 (MAO eligible spouse) information; and an active case takes precedence over a denied case.
• For name and birth date identification data:

Priority is given to:	Over:
MAO	ANF, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
TANF	SSI, SNAP
SSI	SNAP

• For sex and race identification data:

Priority is given to:	Over:
MAO	TANF, SNAP, SSI
TANF	SNAP, SSI
SNAP	SSI

7230.1 Address Changes for SSI Recipients

Revision 17-1; Effective March 15, 2017

For individuals on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) who move from one address to another, inform the individual or his responsible party to contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) to request the residence address change. The address change will be reflected in the Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System (TIERS) after SSA makes the change.

HHSC case workers must not send address change requests for SSI recipients to the TIERS Document Processing Center (DPC) in Austin. Although HHSC staff are able to make those address changes, the addresses will revert back to the address on the SSI record at the next state cut off. The address change must be made by SSA.

7240 Merge and Separate

Revision 17-1; Effective March 15, 2017

If an individual is erroneously assigned more than one individual number, or two or more individuals are erroneously assigned the same individual number, the problem should be reported to the state office Data Control Unit.

If the case must be certified prior to merging, decide which number to enter, using the following rules to select the individual number. If you have:

• an active individual and denied individual in the same or different program area, use the individual number from the active case.
• two individual numbers in different program areas, use the individual number from the case with Medicaid coverage.
• an active individual receiving benefits and an active individual not receiving benefits in the same program area, use the individual number from the case receiving benefits.
• a denied individual with Medicaid and one denied individual with no Medicaid, use the individual number from the denied case with Medicaid.
• denied individuals in the same program area, use the individual number most recently denied.

Revision 20-2; Effective June 1, 2020

The Service Authorization System Online (SASO) is the primary repository of service information for all applicants and recipients enrolled in the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) Long-term Services and Supports (LTSS) programs. SASO accepts and maintains information relevant to the applicant's or recipient's authorizations for LTSS. Services must be authorized in SASO before a provider can receive payment.

SASO contains wizards with prompting sequences that lead the user through a series of windows required for authorization or denial of services. Wizards used to authorize or terminate Community Care Services Eligibility (CCSE) are the:

• Financial Wizard;
• Functional Wizard; and
• Authorization Wizard.

Related Policy

Service Authorization System Help File, Section 8000

7310 Requirement to Use SASO Wizards

Revision 20-2; Effective June 1, 2020

Regional management must ensure the use of the Community Care Services Eligibility (CCSE) SASO wizards to:

• enhance the accuracy of eligibility determinations, service plans, service authorizations and data;
• improve documentation of recipient satisfaction;
• provide a database for provider monitoring and case reading sample selection; and
• ensure compliance with federal regulations for program delivery.

Wizards must be used to document the following case actions:

• authorizations, including initials, ongoing reassessments and changes;
• monitoring;
• terminations; and
• denials.

7320 Use of the SASO Monitoring Wizard

Revision 20-2; Effective June 1, 2020

SASO Monitoring Wizard is used to document all required monitoring contacts with Community Care Services Eligibility (CCSE) recipients.

Document the recipient’s assessment of how well CCSE services are meeting their needs on Form 2314, Satisfaction and Service Monitoring and enter in the SASO Monitoring Wizard. Data must occur before the end of the month in which the action is due. When a person expresses dissatisfaction with a particular service or if the case worker identifies a concern with a particular service, then case workers should document this information using Form 2314.

Note: Additional contact with the recipient outside of the monitoring home visit or phone call, such as other changes or complaints, should be recorded using Form 2058, Case Activity Record, and not Form 2314, Satisfaction and Service Monitoring.

Depending on the information gathered during the monitoring home visit or phone call, some entries made in the SASO Monitoring Wizard may result in action codes that send referrals to other HHSC staff, such as contract managers, regional nurses or supervisors. When a referral is needed, CCSE staff will go to the SASO Monitoring Wizard Client Satisfaction window, and select: Monitoring Status: Follow-Up Required, then Generate.

To complete follow-up actions, update the SASO monitoring record by entering the additional fields on the Monitor Detail screen:

• Concurs with Previous? Yes or No;
• Problems Alleged;
• Reason; and
• Action.  

The Monitoring Status field on the Client Satisfaction screen will be changed to “Completed” once follow-up and resolution is complete.

The Overall Client Satisfaction question must be completed to document the recipient’s overall satisfaction with services. Document the recipient’s level of satisfaction after the resolution of any alleged dissatisfaction.

Regional management is accountable for ensuring compliance with the use of Form 2314 and the SASO Monitoring Wizard. The information entered provides a database for provider monitoring and ensures compliance with federal regulations.

7330 Reserved for Future Use

Revision 20-2; Effective June 1, 2020

 

Revision 17-1; Effective March 15, 2017

The Community Services Interest List (CSIL) is a web-based application for keeping track of individuals waiting to receive services in various Community Care programs. The CSIL replaces the manual tracking systems used by different community care programs.

The CSIL can be used for a variety of functions. The system works in real time and as soon as you enter data into the system, it is accessible to anyone with the correct permissions. Some functions are restricted to a few people with specific permissions. Permissions are designated by user groups. A "user group" is made up of users who have permission to perform various functions in the CSIL application. Example: The IL Admin group will be able to perform some functions that the IL Worker group is not allowed to do. Your region will decide to which group(s) you will be assigned. You may be assigned to more than one group, but the system allows you to work in only one group at a time.

The CSIL system is used to:

• enter an individual in CSIL directly or through the Long Term Care Services Intake (NTK) System;
• track monitoring contacts;
• update information on individuals in CSIL;
• do group releases of individuals on CSIL when slots are available;
• let supervisors assign individuals to case workers;
• close individuals off the interest list when certified;
• search for individuals on the CSIL; and
• determine the individual's status on the CSIL.

Complete instructions for use of the CSIL can be found in the Web Based Training website at http://palms.hhsc.state.tx.us/login/login.asp?refpage=default.asp.

7510 Outlook Mailboxes for Communication from Medicaid for the Elderly and People with Disabilities (MEPD)

Revision 18-1; Effective June 15, 2018

HHSC Information Technology (IT) has established Outlook resource mailboxes and Outlook procedures for HHSC staff to access electronic information sent by MEPD staff using the MEPD Communication Tool.

HHSC will have regional staff designated to monitor MEPD communication by following the steps below to access the resource mailbox in Outlook.

1. With Outlook open, select File from the menu. Then select Account Settings and again, select Account Settings

2. Select Change from the list of options

3. Select More Settings.

4. Select Advance from the menu then Add.

5. Enter the region's designated Alias as listed in the table below. (For example, "mecreg01" is entered for Region 1

Resource Mailbox Display Name	Alias
HHSC ME Communication Region 1	mecreg01
HHSC ME Communication Region 2/9	mecreg29
HHSC ME Communication Region 3	mecreg03
HHSC ME Communication Region 4/5	mecreg45
HHSC ME Communication Region 6	mecreg06
HHSC ME Communication Region 7	mecreg07
HHSC ME Communication Region 8	mecreg08
HHSC ME Communication Region 10	mecreg10
HHSC ME Communication Region 11	mecreg11

6. Once the alias is entered, select OK, Next, Finish, then Close. HHSC regional designated Resource Mailbox users will access the region's resource mailbox folder in the Outlook tree.

Resource Mailbox owners designated by regional management will be able to add, edit or delete Resource Mailbox users by right-clicking on the mailbox folder. Resource Mailbox owners must contact the Consolidated Help Desk (512-438-4720) if assistance is needed to add, edit or delete Resource Mailbox users.

Permission to forward information from the resource mailbox requires configuration of a separate Outlook profile. Resource Mailbox owners should submit a Help Desk ticket to have this completed for the authorized users.

The regional Resource Mailbox folder will have a single password that will be shared by all authorized users in that region. It is important that one person per mailbox be designated to maintain the password. All other authorized users must understand they are not to reset the password.