host: more from ken to tonelli more on the rule.che >> public charge as an individual who receives onere public benefits for more than 12 months in the aggregate within any 36 month period. receipt of two different benefits and one month counts as two months. prospectiverge is and looks at whether an individual is likely at any aint in the future to become public charge as we define it in the regulation. public benefits are defined as federal, state, and local, and tribal cash assistance, income maintenance, and a small list of non-cash benefits. some examples of the public benefits that are part of the rule are general assistance, ssi, snap, most forms of medicaid, and certain subsidized housing programs. the rule does not consider many forms of government assistance that protect children and pregnant women's health as public benefits. generally this includes emergency medical assistance, disaster relief, national school chip,programs, ship -- medicaid for people under 21, or pregnant women, as well as foster care and adoption subsidies, student and mortgage loans, energy assistance,