State income maintenance manual update

Challenge

A state department of health hired BerryDunn to remodel and redesign their Income Maintenance Manual—a 30-chapter, 2,500+ page policy and procedures manual used to determine Medicaid, SNAP, and TANF eligibility and benefits. The manual is the primary policy resource for state staff to use in making eligibility decisions and conducting case management for state benefit programs, and for consumers to obtain information about state benefit programs.

Solution

BerryDunn conducted the following activities:

• Analyzed the business processes in the manual as part of the business process redesign
• Created an end user survey
• Reviewed Medicaid program requirements and policies, including the policies for calculating the modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) for eligibility, as well as Medicaid long-term care services and the aged, blind, and disabled population
• Reviewed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) requirements and policies, including policies for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) and SNAP Employment and Training (SNAP E&T)
• Reviewed Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) requirements and policies
• Facilitated project workgroups
• Conducted research to identify non-compliant policies and procedures
• Verified that language and policies in the IMM are current and align with federal regulations
• Provided general project support and business analysis

Outcome

This project aims to update the manual, as well as to modernize it for front-end users. The rewritten manual will be more usable and understandable. An established change management process will keep content updated.