California Department of Social Services - State Hearings Division
Notes from the Training Bureau - August 13, 2003

ACWDL 02-44 advised that effective November 1, 2002 $240 of disability income could be deducted from income to determine if an individual or individuals were eligible for 1931(b) Medi-Cal under the alternative B income test.

ACWDL 02-44 established that there are two tests to determine if persons qualify for 1931(b) Medi-Cal. Under alternative A, which applies to 1931(b) recipients, $240 is deducted from the combined earned income and disability income of all members of the MFBU being evaluated for 1931(b) eligibility. In alternative B that applies to both applicants and recipients, the $240 deduction can only be applied to disability income.

This ACWDL expands the definition of public and private disability benefits that qualify as disability income. Public disability payments are those that that are paid under statute or other law which require a finding of disability before payment is authorized. Examples include Social Security, permanent worker's compensation, Veteran's benefits and disability-based Railroad Retirement.

Private disability benefits are those paid by a private entity that are made due to a disability, and usually paid by the individual's insurer under a disability insurance plan which the individual purchased through premiums.

Temporary Worker's Compensation (TWC) and State Disability Insurance (SDI) are treated as earned income and not disability income for §1931(b) purposes. Therefore, for purposes of determining §1931(b) eligibility under the alternative B test, the MFBU is not entitled to the $240 deduction from TWC or SDI.