Medicaid Terms and Definitions

Aged, blind, or disabled individual means an individual who—

(A) is 65 years of age or older, is blind (as determined under paragraph (2)), or is disabled (as determined under paragraph (3)), and

(B)

(i) is a resident of the United States, and is either (I) a citizen or (II) an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise permanently residing in the United States under color of law (including any alien who is lawfully present in the United States as a result of the application of the provisions of section 1182(d)(5) of title 8), or

(ii) is a child who is a citizen of the United States, and who is living with a parent of the child who is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States assigned to permanent duty ashore outside the United States.

Applicant means an individual whose written application for Medicaid has been submitted to the agency determining Medicaid eligibility, but has not received final action. This includes an individual (who need not be alive at the time of application) whose application is submitted through a representative or a person acting responsibly for the individual.

Assets with respect to an individual, includes all income and resources of the individual and of the individual’s spouse, including any income or resources which the individual or such individual’s spouse is entitled to but does not receive because of action—

(A) by the individual or such individual’s spouse,

(B) by a person, including a court or administrative body, with legal authority to act in place of or on behalf of the individual or such individual’s spouse, or

(C) by any person, including any court or administrative body, acting at the direction or upon the request of the individual or such individual’s spouse.

Community Spouse means the spouse of an institutionalized spouse.

Countable Resources are any resources that could be used to pay for care that are not expressly exempt.

Disabled child means a child of an applicant (or Community Spouse) who is blind or permanently and totally disabled, or (with respect to States which are not eligible to participate in such program) is blind or disabled as defined in section 1382c of this title.

Estate Recovery means a claim filed in the estate of a deceased Medicaid Applicant/Recipient. 42 USC § 1396p(b)(4) provides that the term “estate”, with respect to a deceased individual—

(A) shall include all real and personal property and other assets included within the individual’s estate, as defined for purposes of State probate law; and

(B) may include, at the option of the State (and shall include, in the case of an individual to whom paragraph (1)(C)(i) applies), any other real and personal property and other assets in which the individual had any legal title or interest at the time of death (to the extent of such interest), including such assets conveyed to a survivor, heir, or assign of the deceased individual through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust, or other arrangement.

Exempt Resources are resource exempt from Medicaid’s counting rules. Usually there is a policy reason behind the exemption (e.g., the home is exempt because a nursing home resident would have no place to return to if he or she got better and it was sold).

Federal financial participation (FFP) means the Federal Government’s share of a State’s expenditures under the Medicaid program.

FMAP stands for the Federal medical assistance percentage, which is used to calculate the amount of Federal share of State expenditures for services.

Income has the meaning given such term in section 1382a of this title.

Institutionalized individual means an individual who is an inpatient in a nursing facility, who is an inpatient in a medical institution and with respect to whom payment is made based on a level of care provided in a nursing facility, or who is described in section 1396a(a)(10)(A)(ii)(VI) of this title.

Institutionalized spouse means an individual who—

(A) is in a medical institution or nursing facility or who (at the option of the State) is described in section 1396a(a)(10)(A)(ii)(VI) of this title, and

(B) is married to a spouse who is not in a medical institution or nursing facility; but does not include any such individual who is not likely to meet the requirements of subparagraph (A) for at least 30 consecutive days.

Intellectual disability means the condition that was previously referred to as mental retardation.

Look-Back Period means the sixty month period immediately prior to the time an application is filed for long-term care Medicaid.

Maximum-Maximum State is a State that allows a Community Spouse to keep the maximummonthly income allowance and the maximum resource allowance.

Medicaid agency or agency means the single State agency administering or supervising the administration of a State Medicaid plan.

Noninstitutionalized individual means an individual receiving any of the services specified in subsection (c)(1)(C)(ii)

Nursing facility (NF), effective October 1, 1990, means an SNF or an ICF participating in the Medicaid program. Nursing facility also means
an institution (or a distinct part of an institution) which—

(1) is primarily engaged in providing to residents—

(A) skilled nursing care and related services for residents who require medical or nursing care,

(B) rehabilitation services for the rehabilitation of injured, disabled, or sick persons, or

(C) on a regular basis, health-related care and services to individuals who because of their mental or physical condition require care and services (above the level of room and board) which can be made available to them only through institutional facilities,
and is not primarily for the care and treatment of mental diseases;

(2) has in effect a transfer agreement (meeting the requirements of section 1395x(l) of this title) with one or more hospitals having agreements in effect under section 1395cc of this title; and

(3) meets the requirements for a nursing facility described in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section.
Such term also includes any facility which is located in a State on an Indian reservation and is certified by the Secretary as meeting the requirements of paragraph (1) and subsections (b), (c), and (d)

PCCM stands for primary care case manager.

PCP stands for primary care physician.

Provider means either of the following:

(1) For the fee-for-service program, any individual or entity furnishing Medicaid services under an agreement with the Medicaid agency.

(2) For the managed care program, any individual or entity that is engaged in the delivery of health care services and is legally authorized to do so by the State in which it delivers the services.

Resources has the meaning given such term in section 1382b of this title, without regard (in the case of an institutionalized individual) to the exclusion described in subsection (a)(1) of such section

Services means the types of medical assistance specified in section 1905(a) of the Act and defined in subpart A of part 440 of this chapter.

State means the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.

State plan or the plan means a comprehensive written commitment by a Medicaid agency, submitted under section 1902(a) of the Act, to administer or supervise the administration of a Medicaid program in accordance with Federal requirements.

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