What type of documentation can a PHA use to verify a familys medical expenses?
As with any income or expense (including medical expenses), the process of verifying information supplied by an applicant or tenant family must follow the hierarchy of verification as described in Question 1 above. That said, with increasing privacy law requirements (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996), PHAs may have difficulty in verifying unreimbursed medical expenses. The Public Housing Occupancy Guidebook and the Housing Choice Voucher Guidebook provide sample verification forms that PHAs may use to obtain third-party verification of unreimbursed medical expenses. In the event the health care provider does not respond to the PHAs verification request, the PHA may review tenant-provided documents, and document in the tenant file why third-party verification was not available (24 CFR 960.259 and 24 CFR 982.516). The PHA should review these documents with scrutiny to ensure that expenses are not counted twice and ineligible expenses are not counted.
