Section 4310.8. Benefits

When a client receives institutional services and is the recipient of benefits such as Social Security, veteran’s benefits, retirement pensions, and the like, the first $60 is disregarded for the client’s personal needs. All income, including interest earned, over $60 is assessed for services provided. Personal use funds may be conserved for his use up to a maximum of $1,500. When the conserved fund maximum is reached, the full amount of the benefit is assessed, less $25 per month personal use monies. If, after the assessment, the conserved fund level still exceeds the maximum of $1,500, the excess income over $1,500 is assessed. If the conserved fund account falls below $1,500, the assessment returns to all income over $60 until it again reaches $1,500.

The provisions of this § 4310.8 adopted December 3, 1982, effective December 4, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 4149.

Notation

Notes of Decisions

The Department’s regulation which allocates the first $60 of a SSD benefit for the patient’s personal use and the rest to the Department did not violate petitioner’s right to equal protection based upon a comparison to Federal regulations in representative payee cases in which a representative payee is appointed to manage SSD benefits for an incompetent beneficiary according to that beneficiary’s needs, as the petitioning beneficiary was not an incompetent and was not accountable to anyone or any regulation as in a representative payee case; therefore a rational basis for such classifications exists. Weychert v. Department of Public Welfare, 551 A.2d 605 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1988).