Medicaid aged, blind and disabled pathway: count a child's deemed parental resources in the asset test #10470

Problem

is_optional_senior_or_disabled_asset_eligible tests only the person's own ssi_countable_resources. A blind or disabled child's resources also include the deemed excess of an ineligible parent's resources:

• 20 CFR 416.1202(b): a child's resources include the parents' resources above the parental allowance.
• 42 U.S.C. 1382c(f)(2)(A): a child under 18's income and resources include the parents', "except to the extent determined by the Commissioner of Social Security to be inequitable under the circumstances".

The optional aged, blind and disabled pathway (42 U.S.C. 1396a(m)) uses SSI resource methodology (1396a(m)(1)(C), "as determined under section 1382b"). So a disabled child whose parents hold resources above the allowance passes the pathway's asset test in PolicyEngine when the law says the child fails it.

#10370 fixes the same gap in is_medically_needy_for_medicaid. ssi_countable_income already includes deemed parental income, so only resources are missing.

Proposed fix

In policyengine_us/variables/gov/hhs/medicaid/eligibility/categories/is_optional_senior_or_disabled_asset_eligible.py, add the deemed amount to the person's resources before the marital unit sum:

personal_assets = person("ssi_countable_resources", period) + person(
    "ssi_resources_deemed_from_ineligible_parent", period.first_month
)

Tests

Add YAML cases for a disabled child living with two parents whose resources are above and below the parental allowance. Declare separate marital units for the child and the parents. Otherwise the child falls into the parents' marital unit, and the couple sum counts the parents' resources directly.

Related

• Update Medicaid aged, blind and disabled pathway disregards and asset limits (CA, CT, MN, MO, AR, OK, SC) #10364, which leaves this out of scope.
• Count blind people and use the individual or couple in the Medicaid medically needy test #10370, the same fix for medically needy.