§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.

(c) In determining the needs of an applicant or recipient for public assistance by the department, the department shall:

(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 assets 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; am L 2013, c 18, §1]

Case Notes

Income tax refund is not "income". 396 F. Supp. 375 (1975).

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 (1976).

In determining need, State must consider reasonable work related expenses of applicant for assistance. 438 F. Supp. 238 (1977).

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 (1979).

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 (1972).