Health Benefits: Qualifying Income Levels Ministerial Order sets out the maximum qualifying income levels for determining financial eligibility for health benefits at application or annual renewal.

Note
Workers do not apply the qualifying income levels to clients leaving IS or AISH when enrolling them in the AAHB.  The qualifying income levels are applied to other Albertans applying for the AAHB, and all AAHB recipients at annual renewal.

ISTHB Regulation Section 87 provides the eligibility rules for the Alberta Adult Health Benefit (AAHB) program former assistance households.

To ensure clients are aware of the AAHB program, worksite staff:

• Inform clients of the AAHB and have clients sign the EMP 3428D Schedule D AAHB Enrollment and Renewal form at intake.
• Inform clients (verbally or in writing) when they become eligible for the AAHB.

When a client leaves Income Support or AISH and has employment, self-employment, or CPP-D income, the worker:

1. Verifies there is a signed AAHB enrollment form on file or sends the client the EMP 3428D Schedule D AAHB Enrollment and Renewal form and AEHB 3025 AAHB Eligibility letter, which advises them of their eligibility for the AAHB.
   
   
2. When the completed EMP 3428D Schedule D AAHB Enrollment and Renewal form is received, assigns the client (both HH and SP if applicable) to the appropriate AAHB sub-type from the table below.

    

   Assignment of AAHB Sub-Type Based on Reason for Leaving IS or AISH	AAHB CT
   AISH Leaver due to excess employment/self-employment income	72
   AISH Leaver due to excess CPP-D income	73
   ETW Leaver due to excess employment/self-employment income	74
   BFE Leaver due to excess employment/self-employment income (except CT 43)	75
   BFE Severe Handicap Leaver due to excess employment/self-employment income or CPP-D income (CT 43 only)	77

    

3. Note
   Excess employment/self-employment income is defined as employment/self-employment income alone or in combination with any other income.

4. Does not change application or reopen date. 
   
   
5. Deletes all need and income codes from the client budget and adds Need Code 1729 Adult Health Benefit in the amount of $1 and changes the cheque release flag to 'N'. Release of a payment/cheque will prevent the Health Benefits system from picking up the file.
   
   
6. If the client has a recovery deduction, enters R Flag 1 and deletes income codes 8801 Recovery deduction for HH and 8901 Recovery deduction for SP and the amount, and bypasses the error message to complete the budget.
   
   
7. Sends the AEHB 3325 Outstanding Debt for Adult Health Benefit letter to all AAHB clients with an outstanding debt to Community and Social Services.
   
   
8. LISA will produce the EMP 2562 Outstanding Debt letter once the file has closed in the system.  Workers will be required to sign the letter and send it to the client upon file closure.
   
   

The IS office does not transfer the file. Automatic transfers to the Health Benefits system at Common Service Delivery (CSD) will occur nightly. The LISA/CCD file will remain and close in the IS or AISH office.  The Health Benefits system is independent of LISA/CCD and workers will not see in LISA/CCD that the file has been picked up by the Health Benefits system for transfer to AAHB.

Note
The paper file remains in the office where the client last received Income Support or AISH. If CSD staff requires information from the paper file, they will request files on a case-by-case basis.

Following file transfers, the Health Benefits system sends daily eligibility files to the benefit administrators (Alberta Blue Cross) and (Alberta Dental Services Corporation) to ensure continual health benefit coverage, and card files to Alberta Blue Cross who will issue the Health Benefit Cards for clients transferred to the AAHB program.