(Revised 3/1/12 ML #3312)
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(N.D.A.C. Section 75-02-02.1-09)
- Pregnant women are not required to cooperate with Child Support and may remain eligible for Medicaid while pregnant and through the month in which the sixtieth day after pregnancy falls. A pregnant woman must be informed of this exception at the time of application or, in the case of a recipient, at the time the pregnancy becomes known. When Child Support is informed that an applicant or recipient is pregnant, Child Support services will continue to be provided; however, any non-cooperation by the pregnant woman will not affect her eligibility for Medicaid.
- Recipients of Extended Medicaid Benefits and Transitional Medicaid Benefits are not required to cooperate with Child Support and remain eligible for Medicaid.
- Caretaker relatives under age 19 who are within a continuous eligibility period are not required to cooperate with Child Support and remain eligible for Medicaid.
- Cooperation with Child Support is required for all other legally responsible caretaker relatives (including aged and disabled caretakers) for the purpose of establishing paternity and securing medical support. This requirement may be waived for "good cause" as described in 510-40-20
The determination of whether a legally responsible caretaker relative is cooperating is made by the Child Support Agency. The caretaker has the right to appeal that decision.
Legally responsible caretaker relatives who do not cooperate with Child Support will not be eligible for Medicaid. Children in the Medicaid unit, however, remain eligible.
When a legally responsible caretaker relative is not eligible because of non-cooperation, the earned and unearned income of that ineligible caretaker must be considered in determining eligibility for the child(ren).
If a previously non-cooperating legally responsible caretaker relative begins cooperating in an open Medicaid case, and the caretaker is otherwise eligible that caretaker's eligibility may be reestablished. The caretaker must demonstrate that they are cooperating with Child Support before Medicaid coverage can be reestablished. When the caretaker previously stopped cooperating, the automated referral to Child Support ended.
- If the child Support Enforcement case also closed, the caretaker must apply for Child Support services and fulfill the cooperation requirements as determined by the Child Support program (parents or other legal custodians/guardians can apply online at www.childsupportnd.com or mail a completed application to a Child Support office. Applications can be printed from the web or requested directly from a Child Support office).
- If the Child Support Enforcement case did not also close, the caretaker may begin to cooperate with Child Support without application and confirmation of such can be secured by contacting the Child Support worker.
When child Support has confirmed that the caretaker is cooperating, Medicaid coverage for that caretaker can be reestablished beginning with the first day of the month in which the caretaker began cooperating.
(Confirmation of cooperation must be secured by communicating with the Child Support worker; confirmation of cooperating may not be determined based on the Cooperation indicator on the Fully Automated Child Support Enforcement System (FACSES).) Child Support has 20 days to process an application for services. However, typically, applications are processed more quickly than 20 days, and Child Support can be contacted as soon as an open case can be viewed in FACSES.
If a previously non-cooperating legally responsible caretaker relative reapplies for Medicaid after the Medicaid case closed, the caretaker relative is eligible for Medicaid until it is again determined that the caretaker relative is not cooperating.
