Your destination for affordable, quality health care, including Medi-Cal February 16, 2016 Income Pages This Job Aid shows how to enter income into the CalHEERS application. As income is directly related to a consumer s eligibility for financial assistance, it is important to redetermine eligibility upon completing changes to income pages. Application Income Pages The Income Introduction page prepares the applicant for questions about their income and suggests documents to have ready to complete the income pages. Note: Income pages do not display if: there is only one household member on the application and consumer identifies as a former foster youth on the demographics page a consumer is not applying for health coverage. Whether adding income to Employment Income, Self- Employment Income, and/or Other Income pages, the same steps apply for each screen. Add an Income Item 1. After reading the introductory text on the page, click Continue to display the Employment Income page. 2. Use the Add Income button to add each source of 3. On the Add Employment Income page, complete each field as directed for each household member with Fields marked with an * (asterisk) are required fields. CoveredCA.com is a joint initiative between Covered California and the California Department of Health Care Services Page 1 of 7
Employer * Enter the name or company name of the employer. How often * - Enter the frequency of the If the consumer reports they are paid hourly or daily, a required field displays to capture the number of Hours or Days per week. First Date Paid Enter the date first paid for all income received for the current year. This can be any date in the past but no further than four months into the future. If left blank, CalHEERS defaults to January 1st of the year the income item was created. Last Date Paid - When entering income for a specific income period that has ended, enter dates in the First and Last Date Paid field. If entering current income that continues, the Last Date Paid field can be left blank. Employer Contact Information - Employer Contact Person and Employer Phone Number are optional fields; the Employer Mailing Address is conditionally required when the consumer indicates they are employed. 4. Click OK to add the Income item. 5. On the Income page, click the Add Income button to enter another income item (e.g., for a different income source). Repeat steps 2 5 above to enter all income expected for the year for each member in the household earning CoveredCA.com is a joint initiative between Covered California and the California Department of Health Care Services Page 2 of 7
Important notes about income: CalHEERS prorates income with a mid-month begin and end date. Total Current Monthly Household Income displays only the income items with date ranges in the current month from each income type (Employment, Self- Employment, Other). Income entered on the Self-Employment page can only be entered as a monthly amount. Selfemployed consumers should list their total net income (after expenses). One-time, Lump Sum payments are entered on the Other Income screen. If selecting One-time Lump Sum from the How often field, a popup displays information to define a lump sum payment. When the One-time Lump Sum option is selected and the user clicks OK, the field One-time Lump Sum Pay Date dynamically displays at the bottom of the Add. Other Income page. Enter the date payment was received in this field. The system auto-populates the First Date and Last Date Paid fields when the user clicks OK. CoveredCA.com is a joint initiative between Covered California and the California Department of Health Care Services Page 3 of 7
6. Once all income items for a page have been entered, review the page for accuracy. When completed, click Continue. 7. Navigate through all the income pages, entering on the Income Deductions page any deductions the consumer expects to claim on next year s tax return. 8. On the Income Summary page, carefully review all income items and projected annual household income before continuing through the application. Note: Make sure monthly income records reflect the household s actual total monthly income this is what the system will use to calculate Total Projected Annual Household Income. 9. If the Total Expected Yearly Household Income displayed does not align with a consumer s expectations, the user can click the Edit button next to an income line item to navigate back to the Income pages to make adjustments. Alternatively, the yearly amount can be manually overridden. CoveredCA.com is a joint initiative between Covered California and the California Department of Health Care Services Page 4 of 7
10. To override the Expected Yearly Household Income, Click Here is selected, the Expected Income for yyyy (where yyyy is the benefit year) page displays. The page lists the total expected income for each household member. Click Details next to a household member to display a summary of each income type for the individual. 11. Click Edit to change an individual s expected yearly earnings. On the Change Individual Expected Amount popup, enter the amount expected for this individual for the year. Click OK. 12. A confirmation popup displays. Click OK to confirm the annual amount override. 13. A Reset link appears next to the edited record, and the You Expect column shows the new expected annual amount, and an updated total household income amount. Click Save & Continue to navigate back to the Income Summary page where your Expected Yearly Household Income reflects the new total. NOTE: If the Expected Income is manually updated, CalHEERS recalculates the household s monthly income by dividing the annual total by 12. CalHEERS sends the recalculated monthly income amount to Counties when processing Medi-Cal eligible members. Remember, changing the income CalHEERS uses to calculate Monthly and Annual projections may impact eligibility. Report a Change Income Pages This section walks consumers through the Report a Change process to update their income information. After submitting an application the consumer s home page shows the Report a Change button. 1. Click the Report a Change button. 2. On the Report a Change Summary page, click on the Income box across the top of the screen. 3. From the Income Introduction page, click the income type in the left navigation panel to access CoveredCA.com is a joint initiative between Covered California and the California Department of Health Care Services Page 5 of 7
the income pages and make changes. The following steps are the same for each income type (Employment, Self-Employment, Other Income, or Deductions). Edit 1. To make changes to existing income, click the Edit link on the income item. 2. Update existing income entries, for example enter an end date for a job, or make an update on the Add Income page. 3. Review the page for accuracy, and click OK to save changes. Review all income screens to verify accuracy so that CalHEERS calculates actual monthly incomes for every month. This is important as CalHEERS uses monthly incomes to project annual income for eligibility determinations. 4. Once all necessary changes have been made, click Continue through to the Income Summary Page. Review the Income Summary page following steps 8-13 outlined in this document under Application Income Pages. As indicated on step 9, consumers can use the Expected Income functionality to change their projected annual. On the Income Summary Page, upon clicking Continue, the user will be navigated back to the Report a Change summary page where they can resume the Report a Change process. Add Income 1. To add income, click the Add Income button on the Income page. 2. Enter new income details on the Add Income page. Once all information is entered, click OK. CoveredCA.com is a joint initiative between Covered California and the California Department of Health Care Services Page 6 of 7
Review all income screens to verify accuracy so that CalHEERS calculates actual monthly incomes for every month. This is important as CalHEERS uses monthly incomes to project annual income for eligibility determinations 3. Once all necessary changes have been made, click Continue through to the Income Summary Page. Review the Income Summary page following steps 8-13 outlined in this document under Application Income Pages. As indicated on step 9, consumers can use the Expected Income functionality to change their projected annual On the Income Summary Page, upon clicking Continue, the user will be navigated back to the Report a Change summary page where they can resume the Report a Change process. CoveredCA.com is a joint initiative between Covered California and the California Department of Health Care Services Page 7 of 7