N.J. Admin. Code § 10:70-3.2

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 8, April 15, 2024

Section 10:70-3.2 - Citizenship and alien status

(a) In order to be eligible for the Medically Needy program, an individual must be a citizen of the United States, an alien who has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence for the five years prior to the application or an alien who can be classified as an eligible alien in accordance with this subchapter.

1. The term "citizen of the United States" includes person born in Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, Swains Island, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

2. An individual who cannot be classified as an eligible alien in accordance with this subchapter due to changes mandated by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 ( Public Law 104-193 ) but who was residing in a Medicaid-certified nursing facility prior to January 29, 1997, shall continue to be eligible for medical assistance until the individual is no longer eligible for long-term care services.

(b) The following aliens, if present in the United States prior to August 22, 1996, and if otherwise meeting the eligibility criteria, are entitled to Medically Needy benefits:

1. An alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence;

2. A refugee admitted pursuant to section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

3. An asylee admitted pursuant to section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

4. An alien whose deportation has been withheld pursuant to section 243(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

5. An alien who has been granted parole for at least one year by the Immigration and Naturalization Service pursuant to section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

6. An alien who has been granted conditional entry pursuant to section 203(a)(7) of the immigration law in effect prior to April 1, 1980;

7. An alien who is granted status as a Cuban or Haitian entrant pursuant to section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980;

8. An American Indian born in Canada to whom the provisions of section 289 of the Immigration and Nationality Act apply;

9. A member of an Indian tribe as defined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act;

10. An alien who is admitted to the United States as an Amerasian immigrant pursuant to section 584 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 1988;

11. An alien who is honorably discharged or who is on active duty in the United States Armed Forces and his or her spouse and the unmarried dependent children of the alien or spouse; and

12. Certain legal aliens who are victims of domestic violence and when there is a substantial connection between the battery or cruelty suffered by an alien and his or her need for Medically Needy benefits, subject to certain conditions described below:

i. The alien has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States by a spouse or a parent;

ii. The alien has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States by a member of the spouse's or parent's family residing in the same household of the alien and the spouse or parent acquiesced to such battery or cruelty;

iii. The alien's child has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States by the spouse or the parent of the alien (without the active participation of the alien in the battery or cruelty);

iv. The alien's child has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States by a member of the spouse's or parent's family residing in the same household as the alien and the spouse or parent acquiesced to and the alien did not actively take part in such battery or cruelty;

v. In addition to the conditions described in (b)12i through iv above, if the individual responsible for the battery or cruelty continues to reside in the same household as the individual who was subjected to such battery or cruelty, then the alien shall be ineligible for Medically Needy benefits;

vi. The county board of social services shall apply the definitions "battery" and "extreme cruelty" and the standards for determining whether a substantial connection exists between the battery or cruelty and the need for Medicaid as issued by the Attorney General of the United States under his or her sole and unreviewable discretion, in accordance with 8 U.S.C. § 1641.

(c) The following aliens entering the United States on or after August 22, 1996, and if otherwise meeting the eligibility criteria of this chapter, shall be entitled to Medically Needy benefits:

1. An alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, but only after having been present in the United States for five years;

2. A refugee admitted pursuant to section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

3. An asylee admitted pursuant to section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

4. An alien whose deportation has been withheld pursuant to section 243(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

5. An alien who has been granted parole for at least one year by the Immigration and Naturalization Service pursuant to section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act but only after the alien has been present in the United States for five years;

6. An alien who has been granted conditional entry pursuant to section 203(a)(7) of the immigration law in effect prior to April 1, 1980 but only after the alien has been present in the United States for five years;

7. An alien who is granted status as a Cuban or Haitian entrant pursuant to section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980;

8. An American Indian born in Canada to whom the provisions of section 289 of the Immigration and Nationality Act apply;

9. A member of an Indian tribe as defined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act;

10. An alien who is admitted to the Untied States as an Amerasian immigrant pursuant to section 584 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 1988;

11. An alien who is honorably discharged or who is on active duty with the United States Armed Forces and his or her spouse and the unmarried dependent children of the alien or spouse; and

12. Certain aliens who are victims of domestic violence as specified in (b)12 above, but only after the alien has been present in the United States for five years.

(d) Any alien who is not an eligible alien as specified in (b) and (c) above is ineligible for Medically Needy benefits. Any such alien, if a resident of New Jersey and if he or she meets all other Medically Needy eligibility requirements contained in this chapter, is entitled to Medically Needy coverage for the treatment of an emergency medical condition only. This coverage is limited to those emergency services which would otherwise be covered by Medically Needy. This coverage does not include inpatient hospital services.

1. An emergency medical condition is one of sudden onset that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in:

i. Placing the patient's health in serious jeopardy;

ii. Serious impairment to bodily functions; or

iii. Serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.

2. An emergency medical condition shall include all labor and delivery for a pregnant woman, but shall not include routine prenatal or routine post-partum care.

3. Services related to an organ transplant procedure are not covered under services available for treatment of an emergency medical condition.

(e) Persons claiming to be citizens and eligible aliens shall provide the county board of social services with documentation of citizenship or alien status, in accordance with (f) below.

(f) As a condition of eligibility, all applicants for the Medically Needy program, (except those applying solely for services related to the treatment of an emergency medical condition or for services related to labor and delivery for pregnant women) shall sign a declaration under penalty of perjury that they are a citizen of the United States or an alien in a satisfactory immigration status. In the case of a child or incompetent applicant, another individual on the applicant's behalf shall complete the same written declaration under penalty of perjury.

1. The following are acceptable documentation of United States citizenship:

i. A birth certificate;

ii. A religious record of birth recorded in the United States or its territories within three months of birth. The document must show either the date of birth or the individual's age at the time the record was created;

iii. A United States passport (not including limited passports which are issued for periods of less than five years);

iv. A Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the U.S. (Form FS-240);

v. A U.S. Citizen I.D. Card (INS Form-197), Naturalization Certificate (INS Form N-550 or N-570);

vi. A Certificate of Citizenship (INS Forms N-560 or N-561);

vii. A Northern Mariana Identification Card (issued by the INS to a collectively naturalized citizen of the United States who was born in the United States before November 3, 1986);

viii. An American Indian Card with a classification code "KIC" (issued by the INS to identify U.S. citizen members of the Texas Band of Kickapoos); or

ix. A contemporaneous hospital record of birth in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico (on or after January 13, 1941), Guam (on or after April 10, 1899), the U.S. Virgin Islands (on or after January 17, 1917), American Samoa, Swain's Island, or the Northern Mariana Islands (unless the person was born to foreign diplomats residing in any of these jurisdictions).

2. If an applicant presents an expired INS document or is unable to present any document demonstrating his or her immigration status, the county board of social services shall refer the applicant to the local INS district office to obtain evidence of status. If, however, the applicant provides an alien registration number, but no documentation, the county board of social services shall file INS Form G-845 along with the alien registration number with the local INS district office to verify status.

3. The following shall constitute acceptable documentation for eligible aliens.

i. Lawful Permanent Resident--INS Form I-551, or for recent arrivals, a temporary I-551 stamp in a foreign passport or on Form I-94;

ii. Refugee--INS Form I-94 annotated with stamp showing entry as refugee under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and date entry into the United States; INS Form I-688B annotated "274a. 12(a)(3)," I-766 annotated "A3," or I-571. Refugees usually adjust to Lawful Permanent Resident status after 12 months in the United States, but for purposes of determining Medically Needy eligibility, they are considered refugees. Refugees whose status has been adjusted will have INS Form I-551 annotated "RE-6," "RE-7," "RE-8," or "RE-9."

iii. Asylees--INS Form I-94 annotated with a stamp showing grant of asylum under section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a grant letter from the Asylum Office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Form-688B annotated "274a.12(a)(5)," or I-766 annotated "A5."

iv. Deportation Withheld--Order of an Immigration Judge showing deportation withheld under section 243(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and the date of the grant, or INS Form I-688B annotated "274a. 12 (a)(10)" or I-766 annotated "A10."

v. Parole for at Least a Year--INS Form I-94 annotated with stamp showing grant of parole under section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and a date showing granting of parole for at least a year.

vi. Conditional Entry under Law in Effect before April 1, 1980--INS Form I-94 with stamp showing admission under section 203(a)(7) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, refugee-conditional entry, or INS Form I-688B annotated "274a.12(a)(3)" or I-766 annotated "A3."

vii. Cuban Haitian Entrant--INS Form I-94 stamped "Cuban/Haitian Entrant" under section 212(d)(5) of the INA.

viii. An American Indian born in Canada--INS Form I-551 with code S13 or an unexpired temporary I-551 stamp (with code S13) in a Canadian passport or on Form I-94.

ix. A member of certain Federally recognized Indian tribes--Membership card or other tribal document showing membership in tribe.

x. Amerasian Immigrant--INS Form I-551 with the code AM1, AM2, or AM3 or passport stamped with an unexpired temporary I-551 showing a code AM6, AM7, or AM8.

4. For aliens subject to the five-year waiting period before eligibility for Medically Needy can be established, the date of entry into the United States shall be determined as follows:

i. On INS Form I-94, the date of admission should be found on the refugee stamp. If missing, the county board of social services should contact the INS local district office by filing Form G-845, attaching a copy of the document;

ii. If the alien presents INS Form I-688B (Employment Authorization Document), I-766, or I-571 (Refugee Travel Document), the county board of social services shall ask the alien to present Form I-94. If that form is not available, the county board of social services shall contact the INS via the submission of Form G-845, attaching a copy of the documentation presented;

iii. If the alien presents a grant letter or court order, the date of entry shall be derived from the date of the letter or court order. If missing, the county board of social services shall contact the INS by submitting a Form G-845, attaching a copy of the document presented.

5. For aliens who present themselves as on active duty or honorably discharged from the United States Armed Forces, the following serve as documentation:

i. For discharge status, an original, or notarized copy of the veteran's discharge papers issued by the branch of service in which the applicant was a member;

ii. For active duty military status, an original, or notarized copy, of the applicant's current orders showing the individual is on full-time duty with the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps., or Coast Guard (full-time National Guard duty does not qualify), or a military identification card (DD Form 2 (active));

iii. A self declaration under penalty of perjury may be accepted, pending receipt of acceptable documentation.

N.J. Admin. Code § 10:70-3.2

Amended by R.1999 d.253, effective 8/2/1999.
See: 31 N.J.R. 97(a), 31 N.J.R. 2203(b).
Rewrote the section.
Amended by R.2006 d.364, effective 10/16/2006.
See: 38 N.J.R. 2368(a), 38 N.J.R. 4480(c).
Substituted "board of social services" for "welfare agency" throughout; in the introductory paragraph of (a), inserted "an alien who has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence for the five years prior to the application"; in (a)2, substituted "shall" for "will"; rewrote the introductory paragraph of (f); and in (f)3x, substituted "AM6" for "AN6".