County indigent health care rules up Tuesday set a $279 net monthly income limit for one person

A one-person household can have no more than $279 a month in net countable income, or $539 before work deductions, to qualify for Denton County's indigent health care program under eligibility rules that go to the Commissioners Court on Tuesday.

The standards, posted for the court's 9 a.m. meeting at the Denton County Administrative Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Drive in Denton, cover the state fiscal year that began Sept. 1 and runs through Aug. 31, 2027. Approval of the Denton County Public Health document is listed as a single agenda item.

The income test

The program counts net income, and it cannot exceed 21% of the federal poverty guidelines. The county's table works out the limits this way:

• One person: $539 gross monthly income, $279 after work deductions
• Two people: $689 gross, $379 net
• Three people: $837 gross, $478 net
• Four people: $987 gross, $578 net
• Five people: $1,136 gross, $677 net

Countable resources, such as savings, boats, campers, stocks and the equity in vehicles, cannot exceed $5,000. Applicants must live in Denton County and intend to stay, and anyone who moves to the county only to get medical care is disqualified for six months. The document says eligibility will not be extended to people in the country illegally.

How the program works

The county calls the program the payer of last resort, meaning applicants may be sent first to Medicaid, Crime Victims Compensation, veterans benefits or other coverage. People with Medicaid benefits are excluded, the document says.

Applications must be signed, dated and received within 30 days of completion. The county gives applicants 14 days to supply missing documents and says it will decide no later than 14 days after an application is complete. Denied applicants can appeal within 90 days to a hearing panel made up of representatives appointed by each commissioner.

Some clients may be required to register with the Texas Workforce Commission and apply for at least six jobs a month. The rules exempt, among others, people 60 and older, those working at least 30 hours a week, pregnant women in their third through ninth month and parents caring for a child under 6.

Covered services listed in the document include inpatient and outpatient hospital care, ambulatory surgery centers, lab work and X-rays, skilled nursing facility care and physician services, paid at Texas Medicaid or Medicare rates.

Sources

dentoncounty.granicus.com

dentoncounty.granicus.com