(a) In determining a person's co-payment, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) may deduct a dependent allowance from a person's total countable income.(1) For a person with at least one dependent relative at home, HHSC allows the individual Social Security Income (SSI) federal benefit rate for each dependent relative and deducts the individual SSI federal benefit rate from the dependent relative's countable income.(2) For a person with a spouse and a least one dependent relative at home, when spousal impoverishment provisions apply, HHSC determines the dependent allowance in accordance with 42 U.S.C. §1396r-5.(b) The amount of the dependent allowance may be appealed based on undue hardship caused by financial duress as determined by HHSC, in accordance with HHSC's fair hearing rules in Chapter 357 of this title (relating to Hearings).