N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law § 33.08: Personal needs allowance for residents of state psychiatric centers and state operated alcoholism facilities

§ 33.08 Personal needs allowance for residents of state psychiatric

centers and state operated alcoholism facilities.

(a) For the purposes of this section:

1. "countable resources" shall mean cash or other liquid assets or any

real or personal property that an individual or couple owns and could

convert to cash to be used for his or their support and maintenance,

which is not excluded under federal law or regulations to determine the

need of an individual for supplemental security income benefits.

2. "countable income" shall mean all of a person's income, in cash or

in kind, both earned and unearned, which is not excluded by federal law

or regulations in determining the need of an individual for supplemental

security income benefits, including the income of the individual's

eligible spouse, and, if the individual is a child, certain income of

such individual's parent or parents, provided however, such provisions

of federal law or regulations which provide a twenty dollar income

exclusion in each month shall not apply to this paragraph.

3. "earned income" shall mean wages and earnings from employment of

the person, including wages or earnings from participation in a

sheltered workshop program.

4. "unearned income" shall mean all income of a person other than

earned income.

(b) Any inpatient of a hospital operated by the office of mental

health or a state operated alcoholism facility shall be entitled to

receive a monthly state payment for personal needs for each full

calendar month commencing on or after the effective date of this

section, in which the patient is in such hospital or alcoholism

facility, if such patient also:

1. does not receive supplemental security income benefits pursuant to

title sixteen of the federal social security act;

2. does not have countable resources in an amount equal to or greater

than the amount of resources an individual may have and remain eligible

for supplemental security income benefits pursuant to title sixteen of

the federal social security act;

3. has countable income in a month of less than thirty-five dollars;

and

4. has applied for or agrees to apply for any federal, state, and

local benefits for which such patient may be entitled, provided that

someone other than the patient may apply or agree to apply for such

benefits on behalf of the patient.

(c) The amount of such monthly state payment for personal needs shall

be equal to the maximum amount of countable income allowed under

paragraph three of subdivision (b) of this section reduced by such

patient's actual countable income.

(d) The director of a hospital shall have the power to take and retain

any state payment for personal needs provided pursuant to this section

in accordance with the provisions of section 33.07 of this article.

(e) The commissioner of mental health is authorized to obtain

reimbursement for a personal needs allowance payment made pursuant to

this section for any month for which a patient subsequently receives a

retroactive payment or benefit, from any source. Such reimbursement

shall not exceed the amount of the personal needs allowance payment made

to the patient for such month.

(f) The commissioner of mental health is authorized, on behalf of the

state, to enter into an agreement with the secretary of the federal

department of health and human services for the purpose of obtaining

reimbursement for personal needs allowance payments made pursuant to

this section for any month in which a patient is subsequently determined

to be eligible to receive supplemental security income payments for such

month.

(g) For the purposes of this section, a person who has been admitted

to central New York psychiatric center from a state correctional

facility or county jail pursuant to section four hundred two of the

correction law shall not be considered a patient in a hospital operated

by the office of mental health. Notwithstanding any other provision of

this section, a person who has been admitted to central New York

psychiatric center from a county jail pursuant to section four hundred

two of the correction law shall be entitled to receive a monthly state

payment for personal needs in an amount equal to, and calculated in the

same manner as, an incentive allowance which is provided to an

incarcerated individual of a state correctional institution pursuant to

section two hundred of the correction law.

(h) Any patient who is qualified to receive a monthly state payment

for personal needs pursuant to this section shall be required to provide

the commissioner of mental health with information relating to the

amount of income and assets of such patient. If the commissioner

discovers that assets or income of the patient were not disclosed

because of fraud or negligence, he may collect the difference between

the amount of such payments and the amount to which the patient would

otherwise have been eligible.

(i) The commissioner is authorized to promulgate regulations to

provide for the time and manner of such payments for personal needs of

such patients.