Wyoming Medicaid Income Disregards for Medicare Savings Programs

Why Gross Income Isn't the Number That Matters

Families across Wyoming look at their parent's Social Security check, compare it to the QMB income standard of $1,330 per month, and assume they don't qualify. But WDH doesn't use gross income. It uses countable income after applying mandatory disregards—and the difference can be the line between qualifying and not.

Understanding how Wyoming counts income is the single most valuable piece of knowledge for MSP applicants.

The $20 General Disregard

Under SSI-related Medicaid budgeting rules (ECOM Section M901 and M905), Wyoming subtracts a standard $20 per month from total gross unearned income. This applies once per household, not per person.

The math matters enormously at the margins. If your parent receives $1,345 per month in Social Security:

• Gross income: $1,345
• After $20 disregard: $1,325
• QMB income standard: $1,330

That parent qualifies for QMB—full payment of Part B premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments—even though the headline number appears to exceed the limit. Without knowing about the disregard, they'd never apply.

Earned Income Gets Even Better Treatment

If your parent or their spouse has any earned income (wages, self-employment), the deductions are more generous:

1. The first $65 of gross monthly earned income is excluded
2. Then half of the remaining earned income is excluded

Combined with the $20 general disregard on unearned income, this can significantly reduce countable income for working households.

Example: A couple where the husband (Medicare beneficiary) receives $1,700/month Social Security and the wife earns $400/month part-time:

• Husband's unearned: $1,700 − $20 general disregard = $1,680
• Wife's earned: $400 − $65 = $335 → $335 ÷ 2 = $167.50
• Total countable household income: $1,680 + $167.50 = $1,847.50
• Couple QMB income standard: $1,804 → Over QMB
• Couple SLMB income standard: $2,164 → Qualifies for SLMB

Without the earned income deductions, the couple's total would be $2,100, and they'd still qualify for SLMB—but families often don't realize that earned income gets this treatment and assume the combined gross of $2,100 is too high.

What Counts as Unearned Income

Countable unearned income in Wyoming includes:

• Gross Social Security retirement or disability benefits
• Private pensions
• Commercial annuities
• Taxable interest and dividends
• Standard VA disability compensation and service pensions

Notable exclusions from countable income:

• VA Aid and Attendance
• VA housebound allowances
• VA reimbursement for unusual medical expenses
• Social Security Fairness Act retroactive lump-sum payments (excluded from countable resources for 9 months after receipt—the ongoing increased benefit amount does count as income)

Spousal Deeming

For married couples living together, WDH combines income and measures against couple standards. If only one spouse applies, the non-applying spouse's income goes through spousal deeming rules. When the non-applying spouse has no independent income, only the applicant's income is measured against the single standard—no deeming penalty.

Important: the spousal deeming rules for MSP are different from the Spousal Impoverishment Protections used for nursing home Medicaid (CSRA, MMMNA). Those rules don't apply to community MSP determinations.

Don't Self-Disqualify

The most expensive mistake in Wyoming's Medicare Savings Program process costs nothing to avoid: run the actual eligibility math with disregards applied before deciding not to apply. The Wyoming Medicare Savings Programs & Extra Help Guide includes an income calculation worksheet that walks through every deduction step by step, so you can see your parent's actual countable income before contacting WDH.

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