1510.000.00 REFUGEE CASH ASSISTANCE (RCA)/REFUGEE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE (RMA)

1510.005.00  Time Limit/Basis Of Eligibility

Eligibility for assistance under the Refugee Resettlement Program is limited to the first eight months a refugee is in the United States.  Refugees eligible for Temporary Assistance or receiving SSI are not eligible for Refugee Cash Assistance; therefore it is important that eligibility for Temporary Assistance or receipt of SSI be determined first.  Process refugees receiving SSI under Medical Assistance guidelines.  For refugees not eligible for cash Temporary Assistance and for refugees not receiving SSI, process RCA using the Temporary Assistance policies standards and level of payment will prevail.

Eligibility determinations must be made as promptly as possible and no more than 30 days from the date of application.  Applicants must be informed of their rights and responsibilities.  It is FSD and Resettlement Agencies responsibility to ensure that every RCA recipient understands any policy that will affect their cash assistance payment.  This requirement includes all notices regarding eligibility, payment adjustments, and termination.

  1. Use the date of application as the date that RCA begins instead of the date of entering the country.  Determine RMA eligibility on the basis of a refugee applicant's income and resources on the date of application, rather than averaging income over the application processing period.
  2. In determining the eight month period, count the month of entry in the U.S. as the first month.  Thus for a refugee who entered the U.S. at any time during November, the eight month period would expire at the end of the following June.  A Cuban/Haitian Entrant eight month time period is established from the date he left a detention center and began residing in an American community.

    NOTE:  An asylee's entry date will be the date that the individual is granted asylum in the United States and thus enable the asylee to access services as needed.

  3. Determine eligibility for any other program before RCA or RMA.  If the applicant does not qualify for any other cash and/or Medicaid program, determine eligibility for Refugee Cash Assistance and Refugee Medical Assistance.
  4. Refugee Medical Assistance is available only to refugees who are not eligible for Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), regardless of how the State has administratively implemented its CHIP program.
  5. Refugees residing in the U.S. fewer than eight months, who lose their eligibility for Medicaid because of earnings from employment, will be transferred to RMA without an eligibility determination.  The purpose of this provision is to encourage early economic self-sufficiency by ensuring that refugees are not discouraged from early employment by the potential loss of medical coverage.