[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 52 (Thursday, March 18, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13428-13430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-6538]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary


Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines

AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice provides an update of the HHS poverty guidelines 
to account for last (calendar) year's increase in prices as measured by 
the Consumer Price Index.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These guidelines go into effect on the day they are 
published (unless an office administering a program using the 
guidelines specifies a different effective date for that particular 
program.)

ADDRESSES: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and 
Evaluation, Room 404E, Humphrey Building, Department of Health and 
Human Services (HHS), Washington, DC 20201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about how the poverty 
guidelines are used in a particular program, contact the Federal (or 
other) office which is responsible for that program.
    For general information about the poverty guidelines (but NOT for 
information about a particular program--such as the Hill-Burton 
Uncompensated Services Program--that uses the poverty guidelines), 
contact Gordon Fisher, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning 
and Evaluation, Room 404E, Humphrey Building, Department of Health and 
Human Services, Washington, DC 20201--telephone: (202) 690-5880; 
persons with internet access may visit the poverty guidelines internet 
site at <http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/poverty/poverty.htm>.
    For information about the Hill-Burton Uncompensated Services 
Program (no-fee or reduced-fee health care services at certain 
hospitals and other health care facilities for certain persons unable 
to pay for such care), contact the Office of the Director, Division of 
Facilities Compliance and Recovery, HRSA, HHS, Twinbrook Metro Plaza, 
12300 Twinbrook Parkway, Suite 520, Rockville, Maryland 20857--
telephone: (301) 443-5656 or 1-800-638-0742 (for callers outside 
Maryland) or 1-800-492-0359 (for callers in Maryland); persons with 
internet access may visit the Division of Facilities Compliance and 
Recovery internet home page site at <http://www.hrsa.gov/osp/dfcr>. The 
Division of Facilities Compliance and Recovery notes that as set by 42 
CFR 124.505(b), the effective date of this update of the poverty 
guidelines for facilities obligated under the Hill-Burton Uncompensated 
Services Program is sixty days from the date of this publication.
    For information about the percentage multiple of the poverty 
guidelines to be used on immigration forms such as INS Form I-864, 
Affidavit of Support, contact the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization 
Service. To get a copy of the most recent poverty guidelines published 
by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, call 1-800-870-3676 and 
ask for Form I-864. To obtain information on the most recent poverty 
guidelines call (202) 514-2607. Persons with internet access may obtain 
the information from the Immigration and Naturalization Service 
internet site at <http://www.ins.usdoj.gov>, and may download the 
affidavit of support forms and poverty guidelines from <http://
www.ins.usdoj.gov/forms/download/i-864pkg.htm>.
    Under an amendment to the Older Americans Act, the figures in this 
notice are the figures that state and area agencies on aging should use 
to determine ``greatest economic need'' for Older Americans Act 
programs. For information about Older Americans Act programs, contact 
Carol Crecy, Administration on Aging, HHS--telephone: (202) 619-0011.
    For information about the Department of Labor's Lower Living 
Standard Income Level (an alternative eligibility criterion with the 
poverty guidelines for certain Job Training Partnership Act programs), 
contact Ronald E. Putz, Director, Office of Employment and Training 
Programs, U.S. Department of Labor--telephone: (202) 219-5229, 
voicemail 173; persons with internet access may visit the Employment 
and Training Administration's Lower Living Standard Income Level 
internet site at <http://www.wdsc.org/techcouncil/prototypes/llsil/
llsil.htm>.
    For information about the number of people in poverty (since 1959) 
or about the Census Bureau (statistical) poverty thresholds, contact 
the HHES Division, Room 1462, Federal Office Building #3, U.S. Bureau 
of the Census, Washington, DC 20233--telephone: (301) 457-3242; persons 
with internet access may visit the Poverty section of the Census 
Bureau's World Wide Web site at <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/
poverty.html>.

1999 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of
                                Columbia
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Poverty
                   Size of family unit                       guideline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................................          $8,240
2.......................................................          11,060
3.......................................................          13,880
4.......................................................          16,700
5.......................................................          19,520
6.......................................................          22,340
7.......................................................          25,160
8.......................................................          27,980
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For family units with more than 8 members, add $2,820 for each 
additional member. (The same increment applies to smaller family sizes 
also, as can be seen in the figures above.)

                   1999 Poverty Guidelines for Alaska
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Poverty
                   Size of family unit                       guideline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................................         $10,320

[[Page 13429]]

 
2.......................................................          13,840
3.......................................................          17,360
4.......................................................          20,880
5.......................................................          24,400
6.......................................................          27,920
7.......................................................          31,440
8.......................................................          34,960
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For family units with more than 8 members, add $3,520 for each 
additional member. (The same increment applies to smaller family sizes 
also, as can be seen in the figures above.)

                   1999 Poverty Guidelines for Hawaii
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Poverty
                   Size of family unit                       guideline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.......................................................         $ 9,490
2.......................................................          12,730
3.......................................................          15,970
4.......................................................          19,210
5.......................................................          22,450
6.......................................................          25,690
7.......................................................          28,930
8.......................................................          32,170
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For family units with more than 8 members, add $3,240 for each 
additional member. (The same increment applies to smaller family sizes 
also, as can be seen in the figures above.)
    (Separate poverty guideline figures for Alaska and Hawaii reflect 
Office of Economic Opportunity administrative practice beginning in the 
1966-1970 period. Note that the Census Bureau poverty thresholds--the 
primary version of the poverty measure--have never had separate figures 
for Alaska and Hawaii. The poverty guidelines are not defined for 
Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the 
Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, 
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau. In cases 
in which a Federal program using the poverty guidelines serves any of 
those jurisdictions, the Federal office which administers the program 
is responsible for deciding whether to use the contiguous-states-and-DC 
guidelines for those jurisdictions or to follow some other procedure.)
    The preceding figures are the 1999 update of the poverty guidelines 
required by section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 
(OBRA) of 1981 (Pub.L. 97-35.) As required by law, this update reflects 
last year's change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U); it was done 
using the same procedure used in previous years.
    Section 673(2) of OBRA-1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) requires the use of 
the poverty guidelines as an eligibility criterion for the Community 
Services Block Grant program. The poverty guidelines are also used as 
an eligibility criterion by a number of other Federal programs (both 
HHS and non-HHS.) Due to confusing legislative language dating back to 
1972, the poverty guidelines have sometimes been mistakenly referred to 
as the ``OMB'' (Office of Management and Budget) poverty guidelines or 
poverty line. In fact, OMB has never issued the guidelines; the 
guidelines are issued each year by the Department of Health and Human 
Services (formerly by the Office of Economic Opportunity/Community 
Services Administration). The poverty guidelines may be formally 
referenced as ``the poverty guidelines updated annually in the Federal 
Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under 
authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2).''
    The poverty guidelines are a simplified version of the Federal 
Government's statistical poverty thresholds used by the Bureau of the 
Census to prepare its statistical estimates of the number of persons 
and families in poverty. The poverty guidelines issued by the 
Department of Health and Human Services are used for administrative 
purposes--for instance, for determining whether a person or family is 
financially eligible for assistance or services under a particular 
Federal program. The poverty thresholds are used primarily for 
statistical purposes. Since the poverty guidelines in this notice--the 
1999 guidelines--reflect price changes through calendar year 1998, they 
are approximately equal to the poverty thresholds for calendar year 
1998 which the Census Bureau will issue in late summer or autumn 1999. 
(A preliminary version of the 1998 thresholds is now available from the 
Census Bureau.)
    In certain cases, as noted in the relevant authorizing legislation 
or program regulations, a program uses the poverty guidelines as only 
one of several eligibility criteria, or uses a percentage multiple of 
the guidelines (for example, 125 percent or 185 percent of the 
guidelines.) Non-Federal organizations which use the poverty guidelines 
under their own authority in non-Federally-funded activities also have 
the option of choosing to use a percentage multiple of the guidelines 
such as 125 percent or 185 percent.
    While many programs use the guidelines to classify persons or 
families as either eligible or ineligible, some other programs use the 
guidelines for the purpose of giving priority to lower-income persons 
or families in the provision of assistance or services.
    In some cases, these poverty guidelines may not become effective 
for a particular program until a regulation or notice specifically 
applying to the program in question has been issued.
    The poverty guidelines given above should be used for both farm and 
non-farm families. Similarly, these guidelines should be used for both 
aged and non-aged units. The poverty guidelines have never had an aged/
non-aged distinction; only the Census Bureau (statistical) poverty 
thresholds have separate figures for aged and non-aged one-person and 
two-person units.

Definitions

    There is no universal administrative definition of ``family,'' 
``family unit,'' or ``household'' that is valid for all programs that 
use the poverty guidelines. Federal programs in some cases use 
administrative definitions that differ somewhat from the statistical 
definitions given below; the Federal office which administers a program 
has the responsibility for making decisions about administrative 
definitions. Similarly, non-Federal organizations which use the poverty 
guidelines in non-Federally-funded activities may use administrative 
definitions that differ from the statistical definitions given below. 
In either case, to find out the precise definitions used by a 
particular program, one must consult the office or organization 
administering the program in question.
    The following statistical definitions (derived for the most part 
from language used in U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population 
Reports, Series P60-185 and earlier reports in the same series) are 
made available for illustrative purposes only; in other words, these 
statistical definitions are not binding for administrative purposes.
    (a) Family. A family is a group of two or more persons related by 
birth, marriage, or adoption who live together; all such related 
persons are considered as members of one family. For instance, if an 
older married couple, their daughter and her husband and two children, 
and the older couple's nephew all lived in the same house or apartment, 
they would all be considered members of a single family.
    (b) Unrelated individual. An unrelated individual is a person 15 
years old or over (other than an inmate of an institution) who is not 
living with

[[Page 13430]]

any relatives. An unrelated individual may be the only person living in 
a house or apartment, or may be living in a house or apartment (or in 
group quarters such as a rooming house) in which one or more persons 
also live who are not related to the individual in question by birth, 
marriage, or adoption. Examples of unrelated individuals residing with 
others include a lodger, a foster child, a ward, or an employee.
    (c) Household. As defined by the Bureau of the Census for 
statistical purposes, a household consists of all the persons who 
occupy a housing unit (house or apartment), whether they are related to 
each other or not. If a family and an unrelated individual, or two 
unrelated individuals, are living in the same housing unit, they would 
constitute two family units (see next item), but only one household. 
Some programs, such as the Food Stamp Program and the Low-Income Home 
Energy Assistance Program, employ administrative variations of the 
``household'' concept in determining income eligibility. A number of 
other programs use administrative variations of the ``family'' concept 
in determining income eligibility. Depending on the precise program 
definition used, programs using a ``family'' concept would generally 
apply the poverty guidelines separately to each family and/or unrelated 
individual within a household if the household includes more than one 
family and/or unrelated individual.
    (d) Family unit. ``Family unit'' is not an official U.S. Bureau of 
the Census term, although it has been used in the poverty guidelines 
Federal Register notice since 1978. As used here, either an unrelated 
individual or a family (as defined above) constitutes a family unit. In 
other words, a family unit of size one is an unrelated individual, 
while a family unit of two/three/etc. is the same as a family of two/
three/etc.
    Note that this notice no longer provides a definition of 
``income.'' This is for two reasons. First, there is no universal 
administrative definition of ``income'' that is valid for all programs 
that use the poverty guidelines. Second, in the past there has been 
confusion regarding important differences between the statistical 
definition of income and various administrative definitions of 
``income'' or ``countable income.'' The precise definition of 
``income'' for a particular program is very sensitive to the specific 
needs and purposes of that program. To determine, for example, whether 
or not taxes, college scholarships, or other particular types of income 
should be counted as ``income'' in determining eligibility for a 
specific program, one must consult the office or organization 
administering the program in question; that office or organization has 
the responsibility for making decisions about the definition of 
``income'' used by the program (to the extent that the definition is 
not already contained in legislation or regulations.)
    Persons seeking the statistical definition of income that is used 
to determine official income and poverty statistics may consult U.S. 
Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P60-201, 
Poverty in the United States: 1997, Washington, D.C., U.S. Government 
Printing Office, September 1998, pp. A-1 and A-2.

    Dated: March 8, 1999.
Donna E. Shalala,
Secretary of Health and Human Services.
[FR Doc. 99-6538 Filed 3-17-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-04-P