Income HuBERT Training Module 1
Income
Slide Title
Slide Text
Introduction
This HuBERT on-demand training module is provided by the MN Department
of Health WIC Program.
It is an overview of documenting income in the HuBERT system.
Objectives
Documenting Income is a required part of the certification process.
It is important to follow state policy for determining income eligibility, which
can be found in MOM section 5.2.4
Because there are many different types of income proof, this module will
present the most efficient process for assessing and documenting income,
based on the various types.
As an overview, first we check if there is an income documented previously
that can be copied using the Copy to Current Function. If not, then we
check for participation in an adjunctively eligible program, such as Medical
Assistance. Finally, if neither of those applies, we document income using the
traditional method of calculating money coming into a household.
After discussing how to document income, we will then review documenting
other common income scenarios such as what to do when participant
forgets to bring their income, what happens when an income does not meet
the income guidelines, as well as a few other possible scenarios.
Income History Tab
<PF1>
This is the Income History tab of the Participant Folder.
All of the household income contacts are displayed in the Income History
tab.
Each contact includes the date, amount per year, all proofs selected and
the household size.
Income is saved at a household level.
Therefore, if multiple household members are being certified on the same
day, the income only has to be entered one time; the information
automatically copies to all the household members' records.
Income contacts are generally added in the CGS as part of the certification.
However, in some instances, we may need to enter an income in the
Participant Folder. This can only be done if the participant is already in a
valid certification period; the Add Income Screening Contact icon is only
enabled when the participant is currently certified.
To add an Income Screening Contact from the Participant folder, we click
on this icon.
Go ahead and click the icon.
<PF2>
The Income Calculator screen in the participant folder is the same as the
CGS.
<PF2> Cont.
We are not able to view the entire screen so we’ll shift our view to see the
bottom portion of the screen.
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Income HuBERT Training Module 1
<PF3>
All of the previous household Income Screening Contacts on the left side of
the screen…
…and an Income Screening Contact for today is generated when we open
this screen.
The household size and amount per year default in as zeroes (0) and will
update as we add our income information.
For some of the contacts, information is not visible. We can use the scroll bar
to view the rest of the information.
Alternatively, we can hover our mouse over the line to view the entire
contact.
<PF4>
<no script>
The other areas of the Income Calculator include:
The Adjunctive Eligibility section where participation in a program that
provides adjunctive eligibility can be documented;
the Pending Proof of Income checkbox where we can indicate that a
participant did not have their income with them when they were certified;
the Income Information section where traditional income contacts can be
documented; and
The Household Size field, which is required every time we document income.
We will go through all of this in detail as we practice adding income records.
We are looking at the Income History for the Bear family.
Sister Bear was recertified on 10/25/13 and an income was recorded.
Teddy Bear is here for a recertification today.
Since Income is usually documented as part of certification, we are going to
demonstrate how to document income in the CGS.
Copy to Current
<CGS1>
This is the demographics section of the CGS for Teddy Bear.
Click the calculator icon to open the Income Calculator
<CGS2>
Again, we are looking at the lower portion of the screen.
The first thing to check when we are documenting income is whether there is
a record from within the past 92 days that we can copy.
We are only required to assess a household's income every three months.
If an income record already exists that was documented within the past 92
days, we don't have to reassess income.
However, we still need to document an income contact because it is
required to complete Teddy Bear's certification. We do this by using the
Copy Items to Current Income function.
<CGS2> Cont.
Today is 12/27/13. The last income record is from 10/25/13, which is within 92
days so we can use it as the income for today’s certification.
To do so, we need to highlight the contact we would like to copy.
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Income HuBERT Training Module 1
Go ahead and click on the 10/25/13 contact.
<CGS3>
The Copy Items to Current Income button becomes enabled since the
income contact was recorded within 92 days.
Go ahead and click the button to copy the income.
<CGS4>
The information copies to the current contact...
...and the Original Screening Date reflects that this income was copied from
an earlier contact.
Notice, the income can be modified,
BUT WE SHOULD NOT MODIFY IT!!
Changes should never be made to the income record when we use the
copy function.
Click OK to save the income.
<CGS5>
Notice the income displays.
Adjunctive Eligibility
<adj1>
Let's take a look at using adjunctive eligibility to document income.
Sandy Beach is here for a recertification.
Go ahead and click on the Calculator to document income.
<adj2>
Sandy’s last income was collected more than a year ago, so Copy to
Current is not an option.
Our next step is to verify if Sandy is adjunctively eligible before proceeding
with the more time-intensive traditional income screening.
We only need to verify participation in one of the following programs:
Food Support, MFIP, MN Health Care Program- Medical Assistance, MN
HealthCare Program- MN Care, Fuel Assistance, Head Start or School Meals.
SSI and TEFRA will be discussed separately since they function a bit differently
than the rest.
Sandy participates in Medical Assistance or MHCP-MA.
Go ahead and select MHCP-MA.
<adj3>
Next we must verify the proof of enrollment and document it in the dropdown list.
Verification of adjunctive eligibility occurs outside of the system. Only once
a participant's enrollment is verified using other methods (such as viewing a
current letter of eligibility or using on-line or telephone verification methods)
can we document that we've obtained proof.
Go ahead and click the arrow to see the list of options for proofs.
<adj4>
The options for proof are:
<adj4> Cont.
Eligibility letter, Pending Proof - 30 day, Phone / System Verification, and
Presumptive Eligibility - 90 day.
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Income HuBERT Training Module 1
Presumptive Eligibility is unique to the MHCP programs and will be discussed
later.
We verified her participation in Medical Assistance on the phone. Go ahead
and select Phone/System Verification.
<adj5>
<no script>
<adj6>
Notice the Income Contact for today updates as we enter information...
There is one more field we need to complete to finish this income contact.
Go ahead and double click on Household Size to highlight the zero so that
we can type over it.
<adj7>
The Beach household size has not changed.
Go ahead and use information from this screen to enter the household size
and click OK to save the contact.
<adj8>
The income contact has been recorded for all family members.
If other family members are being certified the same day, we do not need
to enter any more income information
When we use Adjunctive Eligibility, the Yearly Income does not change in
the demographics screen...
<adj9>
...But rest assured, the income verification is saved.
One other thing to note; Since we are looking at an income record for
today, the fields are enabled and able to be edited.
Please select the income from 12/18/2012.
<adj10>
The details display but the income contact is no longer editable since it is
from a date in the past.
Go ahead and click Cancel.
<adj11>
That’s all for Sandy. Next we’ll take a look at SSI and TEFRA, which are
adjunctive eligibility programs that only apply to the individual and not the
household.
Individual Adjunctive Eligibility
<IndAdjEl1>
Rainbow and Guppie are here for recertification today.
Go ahead and click the calculator icon to record an income contact for
Rainbow.
<IndAdjEl2>
SSI and TEFRA function differently from the other Adjunctive Eligibility
programs.
The difference is that they grant INDIVIDUAL eligibility instead of household
eligibility.
Rainbow receives SSI and has a letter as proof.
Go ahead and document this.
<IndAdjEl3>
<no script>
<IndAdjEl4>
<no script>
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Income HuBERT Training Module 1
<IndAdjEl5>
<no script>
<IndAdjEl6>
Rainbow’s Individual Eligibility displays below the household record since it
only applies to Rainbow.
Both SSI and TEFRA will appear like this.
A household size is still required. The Fish family has 4 people in their
household. Go ahead and record that and click OK to save the contact.
<IndAdjEl7>
<no script>
<IndAdjEl8>
Since the income record entered for Rainbow only applies to her, we need
to add another income record to complete Guppie's certification. Let's take
a look at how to enter a traditional income record for a household.
Traditional Income Screening
<Trad1>
Guppie is also being recertified today but does not receive SSI.
He doesn't participate in any other Adjunctive programs either so we will
have to record a traditional income.
Go ahead and click the Calculator icon.
<Trad2>
Traditional income is recorded in the Income Information area.
Click the Add Item button to add an income.
<Trad3>
The Add Income Line Item screen opens providing a variety of options for
recording income depending on the proof provided.
Guppie’s mom has brought in her pay stub showing she works 30 hours per
week at a rate of $9 per hour.
Click the Hourly radio button to document this income.
<Trad4>
Enter 9 in the Amount per Hour box and HuBERT will fill in the rest.
Then hit the Tab key or click in the Hours per Week box.
<Trad5>
Type 30 in the Hours per Week box and click the down arrow to see the Proof
menu.
<Trad6>
Click the scroll bar to see the list of Proof options.
<Trad7>
<no script>
<Trad8>
We are not required to copy or scan any documents for proof. By selecting
an option from the Proof drop-down, we are indicating that the participant
provided that particular proof of income and that we reviewed it.
Select Pay Stub.
<Trad9>
<no script>
<Trad10>
Click OK to save the Income.
<Trad11>
The Income we just added is listed in the Income Information section and
they system automatically calculates the Amount per Year.
Unlike adjunctive eligibility, we need to assess if there are any other possible
sources of income that should be recorded.
<Trad11> Cont.
Guppie’s mom also receives child support payments.
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Income HuBERT Training Module 1
Go ahead and add that income; She receives $250 per month.
<Trad12>
<no script>
<Trad13>
<no script>
<Trad14>
<no script>
<Trad15>
Oops! Her child support payments are $300 per month, not $250.
Click on the income we just entered for her child support to highlight it.
<Trad16>
Click on Edit Item...
<Trad17>
...double click on the $250 and change to $300. Then Click OK or hit the
Enter key.
<Trad17a>
<no script>
<Trad18>
The Line Item is updated with the new value.
Notice that we can also Delete an item if needed.
Editing and deleting income records can only occur on the date they are
entered into HuBERT. Otherwise, we would need to create a new income
record.
HuBERT also adds all incomes entered to calculate the Total Amount per
Year.
To complete our income record, we always need to add a household size.
Double-click in household size and indicate a household size of 4 and click
OK to save our income record.
<Trad18a>
<no script>
<Trad20>
Notice that our annual calculated income displays next to the calculator in
the Yearly Income section on Demographics.
That’s all for documenting traditional income.
Next we’ll look at what to do if the participant forgot their proof of income.
Temporary Eligibility
<PP1>
June Bug is here for a recertification and has forgotten her proof of income.
Since income documentation is required to complete the CGS let’s click on
the calculator icon to see what our options are.
<PP2>
First, let’s see what we could do if June forgot proof of eligibility for an
adjunctive program.
Go ahead and click the check box for MFIP...
<PP3>
...and open the drop down to see the proof options.
<PP4>
Pending Proof - 30 Day is an option available for all of the Adjunctive
Eligibility Programs.
It should be selected if the participant is currently participating in the
adjunctive program but does not have proof at the certification.
<PP4> Cont.
The “30 day” indicates June is temporarily eligible for 30 days and should
receive one month’s worth of benefits.
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Income HuBERT Training Module 1
However, June has forgotten her W-2 so go ahead and click the drop-down
again to close the menu;
<PP5>
and de-select the MFIP checkbox.
<PP6>
June’s mom says she earns $23,000 a year. Go ahead and add that
income.
<PP7>
<no script>
<PP8>
Enter 23,000 and click the drop-down for Proof of Income.
<PP9>
PENDING PROOF indicates that the participant did not provide proof of
income. Go ahead and select it.
<PP10>
<no script>
Enter 23,000 and click the drop-down for Proof of Income drop-down.
<PP11>
Click OK to save our income record.
<PP12>
In addition to the documentation we just completed, the Pending Proof of
Income checkbox MUST be selected if the participant cannot provide proof
of adjunctive eligibility or income at the time of certification.
Selecting the checkbox triggers the functionality that limits the participant to
one month of benefits and activates a system-generated alert indicating the
need for proof of income.
Go ahead and select the checkbox.
<PP13>
Great! Now just add a household size of 4 and click OK.
<PP13a>
<no script>
<PP14>
Let’s skip ahead now to the benefit issuance screen to see the functionality
triggered by selecting the Pending Proof of Income checkbox.
<PP15>
June Bug is suggested one month of benefits with the explanation
“Participant has a proof pending and will be limited to one issuance.”
Now let’s see what happens when June Bug comes back in February.
<PP16>
It’s February and June Bug is back with her proof of income. Go ahead and
open her folder.
<PP17>
The system-generated alert reminds us that proof of income is needed for
this participant.
Go ahead and click Close or hit the Enter key.
<PP118>
Let’s see what happens if we try to issue benefits without adding an income.
Click the Issue Benefits icon.
<PP19>
Nope! The benefit issuance message informs us the June Bug has “proof
pending and has already received the one set of benefits allowed.”
So we must resolve the pending proof before we can issue any more
benefits.
Click the Cancel button.
<PP20>
Where do you think we go to add income in the Participant Folder? Go
ahead.
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Income HuBERT Training Module 1
<PP21>
Notice that PENDING PROOF displays in the Income History tab.
Do you remember how to open the income calculator from here? Go
ahead.
<PP22>
And remember, adding an income in the Participant Folder is just like adding
it in the CGS.
Keep in mind that we can’t use the Copy Items to Current Income
functionality because that only copies the exact same income and we
can’t make any changes to it.
Since we need to add proof, we need to create a new income record.
June Bug brought her W-2 form as proof of income, which indicates she has
an annual salary of $23,000.
Go ahead and add her new income record.
<PP23>
<no script>
<PP24>
<no script>
<PP25>
Click the scroll bar.
<PP25a>
<no script>
<PP26>
<no script>
<PP27>
<no script>
<PP28>
<no script>
<PP29>
Her household size is still 4.
Enter it and save the new income record.
<PP29a>
<no script>
<PP30>
<pause for animation>
Let’s try issuing benefits again and see what is suggested.
<PP31>
HuBERT now suggests the tri-monthly benefits for which June Bug is eligible.
Copy to Current, Adjunctive Eligibility and traditional income screening will
comprise the majority of our income contacts. The next module will review
some of the less common income documentation scenarios.
End Slide
We appreciate you taking the time to review this HuBERT on-demand training
module presented by the MN Department of Health WIC Program.
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