To be eligible, every household meeting certain conditions must complete and turn in a reporting form every six months. Information from the semiannual reporting (SAR) form is used to decide on a household’s continued eligibility for the next semiannual (six-month) period or the next renewal, whichever is sooner.
NOTE: See Appendix A for information on how often a renewal is needed and whether a semiannual review (SAR) is needed for each MA program category.
Enrollment in SAR does not change the need for the client to report changes that affect continued eligibility. A reported change must also be included on the next SAR form. The CAO must take timely action on information provided, no matter how it is reported.
NOTE: The SAR form is available in Spanish for Spanish-speaking people. The CAO must enter the language code:
1 for English
2 for Spanish
The SAR system controls what benefits are given to budget groups that are enrolled in SAR. The system issues a SAR form to each budget group by how benefits are issued in each case. The CAO must enter data into the system to show whether the SAR form is complete or incomplete. Updating of the system is called tracking.
If the SAR form is not received or there is information missing, it is tracked as incomplete. The system creates a late/incomplete notice (L/IN). If the L/IN is not received by the due date or it is received incomplete, the CAO must send an advance notice and stop benefits.
Exception: (Extended Medical Coverage (EMC) is enrolled in SAR separately from other programs. The SAR code for EMC is “A,” which means that only that budget is MA. An EMC budget does not need to be tracked, and an L/IN is not created. The SAR form must be returned by the due date for review in the seventh month of the twelve-month eligibility period. If the SAR form is not returned by the due date, the caseworker must close the budget with appropriate notice.
MA benefits must be closed if the client does not meet the semiannual reporting rules.
Updated February 14, 2012, Replacing October 25, 2008