State Assistance Programs for SSI Recipients, January 2009

Wisconsin

State Supplementation

Mandatory Minimum Supplementation

Administration: No recipients.

Optional State Supplementation

Administration: State Department of Health Services, Division of Disability and Elder Services, Health Care Access and Accountability.

Effective date: January 1, 1974.

Statutory basis for payment: Wisconsin Statutes 49.77 and 49.775.

Funding

Administration: State funds.

Assistance: State funds.

Passalong method: Maintaining total expenditures.

Place of application: Social Security Administration field offices.

Scope of coverage: Optional state supplement provided to all eligible persons, including children, residing in the specified living arrangements. Residents of emergency shelters or patients in medical facilities where Medicaid pays more than 50 percent of the cost of care are not eligible for supplementation.

Resource limitations: Federal SSI regulations apply.

Income exclusions: Federal SSI regulations apply.

Recoveries, liens, and assignments: None.

Financial responsibility of relatives: None.

Interim assistance: State participates.

Payment calculation method: Recipients residing in the specified living arrangements are paid an established state supplement based on eligibility for a federal SSI benefit of at least $1.

Payment levels: See Table 1.

Table 1. Optional state supplementation payment levels, January 2009 (in dollars)
Living arrangement Combined federal and state State supplementation
Individual Couple Individual Couple
Living independently 757.78 1,143.05 83.78 132.05
Living in the household of another 533.12 806.05 83.78 132.05
Living independently with an ineligible spouse 804.43 . . . 130.43 . . .
Living in the household of another with an ineligible spouse 584.39 . . . 135.05 . . .
Private nonmedical group home or natural residential setting 853.77 1,488.41 179.77 477.41
SOURCES: Social Security Administration, Office of Income Security Programs; state information.
NOTES: A caretaker supplement is provided to SSI recipients with children: $250 for first child; $150 for each additional child.
. . . = not applicable.
DEFINITIONS:
Living independently.
Includes recipients living in their own households, in private medical treatment facilities where Medicaid pays 50 percent or less of the cost of their care, or in nonmedical institutions. Also includes persons in medical facilities who are classified in a federal Code A living arrangement under section 1611(e)(1)(E) of the Social Security Act.
Living in the household of another.
Includes recipients residing in a federal Code B living arrangement.
Living independently with an ineligible spouse.
Includes recipients living in their own household with an ineligible spouse.
Living in the household of another with an ineligible spouse.
Includes recipients residing in a federal Code B living arrangement who have an ineligible spouse.
Private nonmedical group home or natural residential setting.
Restricted to recipients who require a supportive living arrangement and reside in private nonmedical group homes or in a natural residential setting with support. Eligibility is based on certification, on an individual basis, by the state.

Number of recipients: See Table 2.

Table 2. Number of persons receiving optional state supplementation, January 2009 a
Living arrangement Total Aged Blind Disabled
Adults Children
All recipients 108,596 9,327 977 71,462 26,830
Living independently 71,523 6,159 495 42,004 22,865
Living in the household of another 6,153 350 84 4,565 1,154
Living independently with an ineligible spouse 6,708 915 54 5,736 3
Living in the household of another with an ineligible spouse 87 19 0 68 0
Private nonmedical group home or natural residential setting 24,125 1,884 344 19,089 2,808
SOURCE: State information.
a. Represents data from November 2008.

Total expenditures: The state reported expenditures of $136,935,791 for calendar year 2008 in state-administered payments to SSI recipients.

State Assistance for Special Needs

Administration

State Department of Health Services, Division of Disability and Elder Services, Health Care Access and Accountability.

Special Needs Circumstances

State administers special needs supplementary payments to cover care in nonmedical facilities and natural residential settings. Recipients with dependent children are eligible for a higher level of supplementation.

Medicaid

Eligibility

Criteria: SSI program guidelines (Title XVI).

Determined by: Social Security Administration.

Medically Needy Program

State provides a program for the aged, blind, and disabled medically needy.

Unpaid Medical Expenses

The Social Security Administration does not obtain this information.