The purpose of this General Information System (GIS) message is to provide information on the impact of certain federal COVID-19 related payments on Medicaid eligibility determinations.
Section 2104 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 made changes to Unemployment Insurance Benefits (UIB) in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Eligible individuals who are collecting UIB will receive an additional weekly compensation payment of $600. Although income received through an UIB is typically countable income under Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) and non-MAGI budgeting methodology, the CARES Act specifically directed states to disregard the $600 weekly Pandemic Unemployment compensation when determining eligibility for Medicaid. The regular UIB payments received are still counted as income.
Additionally, section 2201 of the CARES Act created a relief payment in the form of a refundable tax credit for 2020 to eligible individuals. The “recovery rebate” or “stimulus payment” is up to $1,200 for single adults, $2,400 for married couples filing jointly and $500 for children under age 17. This stimulus payment is not taxable income and therefore not countable in MAGI-based eligibility determinations. For non-MAGI determinations, rebates are not countable as income and are an exempt resource for 12 months. After the 12-month period any portion of the stimulus payment remaining is a countable resource.