Q and A – Family Assistance with Medical Bills

Question: In preparing a tenant’s recertification, I verified that a tenant’s siblings (who do not reside at the property) pays $54/month towards the tenant’s medical insurance.  The monthly premium is $154 – of which the tenant pays $100 and the siblings pays $54.  My question is two-fold:

1. Do I count that $54 in monthly assistance from the sibling as income for the tenant since it is happening monthly?
2. Would the tenant’s monthly medical expense be $154 or just the $100 portion that the tenant is paying out-of-pocket?

~ Natalie – Pennsylvania

Answer: HUD Handbook 4350.3, Rev-1, Change 4, Exhibit 5-1 states that ‘amounts received by the family that are specifically for, or in reimbursement of, the cost of medical expenses for any family member’ are excluded from annual income.  Therefore, the $54/month that the sibling pays should not be counted as income or as a portion of the medical expense for the tenant.  The tenant pays $100/month out-of-pocket.  Therefore, the monthly medical expense is $100.