DHCS mailed out the Pickle Tickler NOAs the first week of January 2010 to individuals who currently receive Title II benefits; have been discontinued from the SSI/SSP since December 2004 (for any reason); and were determined ineligible during the Pickle screening process. Pursuant to the Lynch v. Rank lawsuit, each potentially eligible Pickle individual must receive a Pickle Medi-Cal notice for three consecutive years. [Download]

Effective January 4, 2010, DHCS implemented a Social Security Number matching process to verify the citizenship and identity of Medi-Cal applicants and beneficiaries who are subject to the citizenship/identity requirements of the DRA. A successful match fulfils the DRA’s Citizenship and Identity requirements and no further documentation is needed from the applicant or beneficiary for this purpose. Thus, counties will see savings in administrative costs and staff time needed for DRA compliance. Further, most applicants and beneficiaries are spared the effort and expense of having to locate or obtain acceptable documentation. [Download]

In 2005 clothing was eliminated from the definition of In-Kind Support and Maintenance for SSI. Therefore, to remain no more restrictive than the SSI program, In-Kind amounts for clothing must be eliminated from the Medically Needy rules and from the rule for programs following the SSI rules. The Income-In-Kind for clothing for the Section 1931(b) program remains the same. [Download]

The dollar amount listed for “Independent Living Arrangement Without Cooking Facilities” as listed on the SSI/SSP Payment chart for May 1, 2009, originally enclosed in ACWDL 09-18 and 09-50 was incorrect. The correct dollar amounts are $954.00 for Individuals and $1692.00 for the Couple. [Download]

This ACWDL describes changes in the way retroactive Title II benefits affect Medi-Cal programs. [Download]

This letter contains changeds to the way retroactive SSI benefits are counted under different Medi-Cal programs. [Download]