M-6000, Budgeting

Revision 22-3; Effective September 1, 2022

Budgeting for the MBI program is different than budgeting for other Medicaid programs.

• There are two income-related budget tests for the MBI program, the MBI Income Eligibility Budget and the MBI Post Eligibility Premium Budget.
  • Income Limit — 250% federal poverty level (FPL)
  • Income Verification — Verify that a person is currently employed. Use established verification of earnings.
  • Eligibility Budget — Based on all gross earned income, after all allowable exclusions and tested against 250% FPL. Unearned income is not considered.
  • Post Eligibility Budget – Premium Budget — Unearned income and earned income is used to determine the MBI monthly premium amount.
• Income that is exempt for other programs is considered in the MBI Income Eligibility Budget. For example, irregular and infrequent income of $30 or less per quarter is excluded in other programs. For the MBI Income Eligibility Budget, all irregular and infrequent earned income is counted.
• MBI Income Eligibility Budget – The person’s gross earned income minus all allowable exclusions is compared to 250% FPL. Do not consider the person’s gross unearned income in the income eligibility budget.
• MBI Post Eligibility – Premium Budget -The person’s gross monthly unearned and monthly net earned income is used to determine the MBI monthly premium amount.

Related Policy

Income Eligibility Budget, M-6100
Post Eligibility Premium Budgets, M-7100
Budget Reference Chart, Appendix XXXI
Screening Tool and Worksheets, Appendix XXXIX