Effective 28 Aug 2016

208.065. Verification of eligibility for public assistance, contract for. — 1. No later than January 1, 2017, the department of social services shall procure and enter into a competitively bid contract with a contractor to provide verification of initial and ongoing eligibility data for assistance under the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP); temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) program; child care assistance program; and MO HealthNet program. The contractor shall conduct data matches using the name, date of birth, address, and Social Security number of each applicant and recipient, and additional data provided by the applicant or recipient relevant to eligibility against public records and other data sources to verify eligibility data.

2. The contractor shall evaluate the income, resources, and assets of each applicant and recipient no less than quarterly. In addition to quarterly eligibility data verification, the contractor shall identify on a monthly basis any program participants who have died, moved out of state, or have been incarcerated longer than ninety days.

3. The contractor, upon completing an eligibility data verification of an applicant or recipient, shall notify the department of the results; except that, the contractor shall not verify the eligibility data of persons residing in long-term care facilities or persons receiving home- and community-based services whose income and resources were at or below the applicable financial eligibility standards at the time of their last review. Within twenty business days of such notification, the department shall make an eligibility determination. The department shall retain final authority over eligibility determinations. The contractor shall keep a record of all eligibility data verifications communicated to the department. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to affect any obligation or requirement under state or federal law or regulation that the department verify the eligibility data of persons residing in long-term care facilities or persons receiving home- and community-based services.

4. Within thirty days of the end of each calendar year, the department and contractor shall file a joint report to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the president pro tempore of the senate. The report shall include, but shall not be limited to, the number of applicants and recipients determined ineligible for assistance programs based on the eligibility data verification by the contractor and the stated reasons for the determination of ineligibility by the department.

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(L. 2016 S.B. 607)