California Department of Social Services - State Hearings Division
Notes from the Training Bureau - December 2, 1998

Effective January 1, 1998, once a member of a CalWORKs assistance unit has established a restricted account (i.e., a bank account of up to $5000 in value that is designated to be used only for purposes of purchasing a home, starting a business or for job training or education for the account holder or dependents), the account is also exempt for Medi-Cal purposes as long as at least one person remaining would be a Medi-Cal Family Budget Unit (MFBU) member but for the receipt of CalWORKs and as long as the account is maintained within the restricted account rules set out in CalWORKs.

The account remains exempt even after a parent is deleted from the CalWORKs assistance unit due to time limitations, but the parent established a restricted account while on CalWORKs with her/his children and the children remain in a CalWORKs assistance unit. Once the CalWORKS case is closed, the account would no longer be exempt. If this same family reapplied for Medi-Cal only, the account at issue would not be exempt for Medi-Cal property purposes.

ACWDL 98-50 supersedes 98-38. ACWDL 98-50 states that the correct federal citation that provides for a Medi-Cal exemption for restricted accounts is PRWORA Section 404(h)(4) and not the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. This ACWDL clarifies when restricted accounts apply and discusses qualifying and nonqualifying withdrawals from the restricted account. Before a restricted account is established, the CalWORKs recipient must have completed a written restricted account agreement. The ACWDL emphasizes that restricted accounts may not be established by an applicant or recipient of Medi-Cal only.