Public Assistance Policy Manuals

Alternate policy manuals are avaiable for: Combined Medicaid Assistance (CMA), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

Printing the manual material found at this website for long-term use is not advisable. Department Policy material is updated periodically and it is the responsibility of the users to check and make sure that the policy they are researching or applying has the correct effective date for their circumstances.
State Website Disclaimer.

  Section/
Subsection 		Title/Content Date Issued
or Revised
  0-1 CONTENTS INDEX 01/01/26
  0-3 INTRODUCTION 07/01/16
  0-4 ACRONYMS AND GLOSSARY 02/20/25
       

000

Tables of Standards
  001 General Resource Limit 01/01/26
  002 Medically Needy - Income 01/01/26
  003 Monthly Income Standards - ACA Parent/Caretaker Relative 04/01/25
  004 ACA Pregnancy - Income 04/01/25
  005 Healthy Montana Kids Program - Income (HMK & HMK   Healthy Montana Kids Program - Income (HMK & HMK Plus )) 04/01/25
  006 Breast & Cervical Cancer Treatment - Income 04/01/25
  007 ACA Adult and ACA Adult Medicaid - Income 04/01/25
  018 Plan First-Income 04/01/25
       

100

Application Processing
  101-1 Confidentiality 07/01/16
  102-1 Civil Rights 11/15/24
  102-2 General Complaint Procedure 07/01/16
  103-1  Application, Eligibility Determination & Furnishing Assistance                               02/01/25
  103-2 Interview 07/01/16
  103-3 Client Rights and Responsibilities 07/01/16
  103-4 Verification and Documentation 04/01/23
  103-6 Voter Registration 07/01/16
  104-1 Retroactive Medicaid 05/01/17
  105-1 Presumptive Eligibility 07/01/16
       

200

Coverage Groups

  
  200 Groups Covered Overview 07/01/16
200-1 ACA Filing Unit 07/01/23
  201-1 ACA Parent/Caretaker Relative (Family Medicaid) 07/01/16
  201-2 ACA Pregnancy 07/01/16
  201-3 Child Newborn 07/01/16
  201-4 Healthy Montana Kids Plus (ACA HMK Plus) 07/01/16
  201-5 ACA HMK 02/01/24
  201-6 Former Foster Care Children Under Age 26 04/01/23
  201-7 ACA Adult 05/01/25
  201-8 ACA Adult Medicaid 05/02/24
  201-9 Breast and Cervical Cancer 05/02/24
  201-10 Family Medically Needy 07/01/16
  201-11 Qualified Pregnant Woman 02/01/25
  201-12 Pregnancy Extended 07/01/23
  201-13 Family Transitional Medicaid 11/01/25
  201-14 Plan First 12/01/20
  202-1 Adding and Removing Household Members 10/20/22
       

300

NON-FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS

  
  300 Non-Financial Overview 07/01/16
  301-1 Citizenship and Identity 10/22/22
  301-2 Alien Status 01/01/25
  301-3 Emergency Alien Medical Coverage 07/01/16
  302-1 State Residency 04/01/23
  302-2 Temporary Absence from the Home 01/11/24
302-3 Incarcerated Individuals 01/01/25
  303-1 Social Security Number 06/04/24
  304-1 Health Insurance Coverage - Overview 07/01/16
  304-2 Health Insurance Coverage - HIPPS 07/01/16
  304-3 Trauma Questionnaires 07/01/16
  304-4 Lien and Estate Recovery 07/01/23
  304-5 Out of Pocket Maximum 01/01/18
  305-1 Age 07/01/16
  306-1 Managed Care Program 07/01/16
  307-1 COBRA 75 10/01/17
  308-1 Application for Other Benefits 07/01/16
  308-2 Common Law Marriage 07/01/16
  309-1 HMK - Other Insurance 11/01/22
       

400

Resources

  
  400  Resource Overview 06/28/22
  401-1 Ownership/Accessibility/Equity Value 01/01/26
  402-1 Countable & Excluded Resources 01/01/26
  402-2 Native American Resources 07/01/16
  402-3 Trust Funds 03/01/17
  403-1 Vehicles 07/01/16
  404-1 Asset Transfers 07/01/24
  404-2 Penalty Periods for Asset Transfers 07/01/25
  404-3 Asset Transfers Involving Life Estates 07/01/16
  404-4 Asset Transfers to Trusts 07/01/16
       

500

Income

  
  500 Income Overview 09/01/25
  501-1 Unearned Income 12/26/24
  501-2 Native American Income 06/01/16
  502-1 Earned Income 01/01/26
  503-1 Self-Employment 04/01/23
       

600

Eligibility and Benefit Determination

  
  601-1 Prospective Budgeting 07/01/16
  602-1 Income Disregards and Deductions 01/01/26
  603-1 Deeming 01/01/26
       

700

Medically Needy

  
  700 Medically Needy Overview  03/01/17
  701-1 Cash Option 01/01/26
  701-2 Cash Option/Cost Share Refunds 07/01/16
  702-1 Medical Expense Option 001/01/20
       

800

Residential Medical Institutions

  
  801-1 Penal Institutions 01/01/23
  802-1 Preadmission Screening 04/01/23
  803-1 Institution & Waiver Resource Assessments 12/01/25
  804-1 Public and Mental Disease Institutions 07/01/16
  805-1 Residential Chemical Dependency Treatment 07/01/16
  806-1 Intermediate Care/Psychiatric Residential Treatment 07/01/16
       

900

Child Support

  
  900 Child Support Overview 07/01/16
  901-1 Cooperation 07/01/16
       

1000

Foster Care and Adoption Medicaid

  
  1000 Foster Care Medicaid Overview 07/01/16
  1001 Subsidized Adoption Medicaid Overview 07/01/16
       

1300

HIPAA

  
  1300 HIPAA 07/01/16
       

1500

Case Management

  
  1501-1 Reporting Changes  01/01/25
  1502-1 Renewals

11/01/24
  1503-1 Timely and Adequate Notice 01/01/25
  1504-1 Over and Under Issuance 07/01/16
  1505-1 Fair Hearings, Administrative Reviews & Appeals 07/01/16
  1506-1 Case Notes 07/01/16
  1507-1 Program Compliance and Quality Control Review 07/01/16
  1508-1 Good Cause 07/01/16
  1509-1 Case File Retention 04/01/25

(Aged/Blind/Disabled Medicaid Manual)

Printing the manual material found at this website for long-term use is not advisable. Department Policy material is updated periodically and it is the responsibility of the users to check and make sure that the policy they are researching or applying has the correct effective date for their circumstances.
State Website Disclaimer.

If you experience any difficulty opening a policy from this page,
please email   HHS Technology Services Center.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section/Subsection

Title/Content

Issued/
Revised
0-1 Table of Contents 01/01/26
  0-3 Introduction 07/01/16
  0-4 Acronyms and Glossary 02/01/25
       

000

TABLES AND STANDARDS

  
  001 General Resource Limits 01/01/26
  002 Medically Needy – Income 01/01/26
008 Categorically Needy- Income 01/01/26
  009 Medicare Savings Programs – Income 04/01/25
  010 Medicaid for Workers with Disabilities (MWD) 04/01/25
  011 Pickle Eligibility – Income 01/01/26
  012 Qualified Disabled Working Individuals (QDWI) – Income 04/01/25
  013 Nursing Home Residents – Income 01/01/26
  014 Poverty Guidelines 04/01/25
  015 Standard Payment Amounts (SPA) 01/01/22
  016 Life Expectancy Table 04/01/22
  017 Life Estate Interest Table 07/01/17
       

100

APPLICATION PROCESSING

  
  101-1 Confidentiality 07/01/16
  102-1 Civil Rights 11/15/24
  102-2 General Complaint Procedure 07/01/16
  103-1 Application, Eligibility Determination & Furnishing Assistance 01/01/25
  103-2 Interview 07/01/16
  103-3 Client Rights and Responsibilities 07/01/16
  103-4 Verification & Documentation 04/01/23
  103-6 Voter Registration 07/01/16
  104-1 Retroactive Medicaid Coverage 05/01/17
  105-1 Disability Determination Overview 07/01/17
     

200

GROUPS COVERED

  
  200 General Overview 07/01/16
  201-1 SSI Cash Recipients 07/01/24
  201-2 Pickle Eligibility (Loss of SSI Due to Increase in SSA Benefits) 07/01/16
  201-3 Early Widows and Widowers/Divorced Surviving Spouse 07/01/16
  201-4 Social Security Increase of July 1972 07/01/16
  201-5 Disabled Adult Children 07/01/16
  201-6 Montana Medicaid for Workers with Disabilities (MWD) 05/01/25
  201-7 Qualified Disabled Working individuals (QDWI) 07/01/16
  201-8 Medicare Savings Programs 05/01/25
  201-9 Residents in Medical Institutions Prior to October 1, 1989 07/01/16
  202-1 Adding or Removing Household Members 10/20/22
       

300

NON-FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS

  
  300 Non-Financial Requirements 07/01/16
  301-1 Citizenship and Identity

10/20/22
  301-2 Alien Status 01/01/25
  301-3 Emergency Alien Medical Coverage 07/01/16
  302-1 State Residency 07/01/16
  302-2 Temporary Absence from the Home 01/11/24
302-3 Incarcerated Individuals 01/01/25
  303-1 Social Security Number 07/01/16
  304-1 Health Insurance Coverage - Overview 07/01/16
  304-2 Health Insurance Coverage - HIPPS 07/01/16
  304-3 Trauma Questionnaires 07/01/16
  3 04-4 Lien and Estate Recovery 07/01/16
  304-5 Out of Pocket Maximum 01/01/18
  305-1 Age 07/01/16
  306-1 Managed Care Program 07/01/16
  307-1 COBRA 75 10/01/17
  308-1 Application and Other Benefits 07/01/16
       

400

RESOURCES

  
  400 Resource Overview 06/28/22
  401-1 Ownership/Accessibility/Equity Value 01/01/26
  402-1 Countable & Excluded Resources 01/01/26
  402-2 Native American Resources 07/01/16
  402-3 Trust Funds 06/01/22
  402-4 Conditional Assistance 07/01/16
  403-1 Vehicles 07/01/16
  404-1 Asset Transfers 07/01/24
  404-2 Penalty Periods for Asset Transfers 07/01/25
  404-3 Asset Transfers Involving Life Estates 07/01/16
  404-4 Asset Transfers to Trusts On or After 8/11/93 07/01/16
  404-5 Pursuing Claims on Property & Estates 07/01/16
       

500

INCOME

  
  500 Income Overview 09/01/25
  501-1 Unearned Income 12/26/24
  501-2 Native American Income 06/01/16
  502-1 Earned Income 01/01/26
  503-1 Self-Employment 04/01/23
       

600

ELIGIBILITY & BENEFIT DETERMINATION

  
  601-1 Prospective Budgeting 07/01/16
  602-1 Income Disregards and Deductions 01/01/26
  603-1 Deeming 01/01/26
       

700

MEDICALLY NEEDY

  
  700 Medically Needy Overview 03/01/17
  701-1 Cash Option 01/01/22
  701-2 Cash Option/Cost Share Refunds 01/01/26
  702-1 Medical Expense Option 01/01/20
       

800

Residential Medical Institutions

  
  800 Residential Medical Institutes Overview 07/01/24
  801-1 Penal Institutions 01/01/23
  802-1 Preadmission Screening 04/01/23
  803-1 Institution & Waiver Resource Assessments 12/01/25
  804-1 Long Term Care Partnership 07/01/16
  805-1 Budgeting 07/01/16
  805-2 Post Eligibility Treatment of Income (PETI) 01/01/26
  806-1 Montana State Hospital Residents 07/01/16
       

900

WAIVER

  
  900 HCBS/Waiver Overview 02/01/25
  901-1 Income Budgeting 01/01/26
  902-1 Medically Needy 07/01/16
       

1300

HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT
  1300 HIPAA 07/01/16
       

1500

Case Management

  
  1501-1 Reporting Changes 01/01/25
  1502-1 Renewals 11/01/24
  1503-1 Timely and Adequate Notice 01/01/25
  1504-1 Over and Under Issuance 07/01/16
  1505-1 Fair Hearings, Administrative Reviews & Appeals 07/01/16
  1506-1 Case Notes 07/01/16
  1507-1 Program Compliance, Quality Control Reviews 07/01/16
  1509-1 Case File Retention 04/01/25