State Assistance Programs for SSI Recipients, January 2004

Illinois

State Supplementation

Mandatory Minimum Supplementation

Administration: State Department of Human Services.

Optional State Supplementation

Administration: State Department of Human Services.

Effective date: March 1, 1974.

Statutory basis for payment: Illinois Revised Statutes, chapter 305; ILCS, section 5/3-1 et seq.

Funding

Administration: State funds.

Assistance: State funds.

Passalong method: Maintaining payment levels.

Place of application: County offices of the state Department of Human Services, except in Cook County where application is made at district offices of the Department of Human Services.

Scope of coverage: Optional state supplement provided to all aged, blind, or disabled SSI recipients, including children, whose income-maintenance needs, based on state standards, exceed their monthly SSI benefit plus other income. Individuals who have been denied SSI because of their level of income may be eligible for an optional state supplement if there is a deficit between all other income and the income-maintenance need based on state standards.

Resource limitations: Federal SSI regulations apply.

Income exclusions

All recipients: First $25 per month of any income, except income received from a spouse or other person.

Aged and disabled: $20 plus one-half of next $60 per month of earned income.

Blind: $85 plus one-half of remainder of earned income per month.

Recoveries, liens, and assignments: Estate claims are filed against real and personal property for all:

Income maintenance paid after 1963;
Medical assistance paid prior to October 1, 1993, and after January 1, 1966, for persons aged 65 or older; and
Medical assistance paid after October 1, 1993, for persons aged 55 or older.

Financial responsibility of relatives: Spouse for spouse; parent for child under age 18, except that a parent is not responsible for a child of any age who has married, regardless of current marital status, and is not living with the parent.

Interim assistance: State participates.

Payment levels: See Table 1.

Table 1. Optional state supplementation payment levels, January 2004 (in dollars)
Living arrangement	Combined federal and state		State supplementation
Living arrangement	Individual	Couple	Individual	Couple
Living independently	564.00	846.00	a	a
Room and board facility	564.00	846.00	a	a
Residential facility	564.00	846.00	a	a
a. State supplementation is based on state-approved allowances given for individual needs.
DEFINITIONS: Living independently Living in the community. Room and board facility Living in the community but paying for both lodging and meals. An allowance for room and board is given in lieu of separate allowances for food and shelter. Residential facility Living in a long-term care or sheltered care facility. For sheltered care, the payment level is based on the state-approved care rate of a $30 personal needs allowance and a $10 grant adjustment allowance minus their income. For long-term care, a $30 personal needs allowance is provided to a person who has no other income.

Number of recipients: See Table 2.

Table 2. Number of persons receiving optional state supplementation, January 2004
Living arrangement	Total	Aged	Blind	Disabled
All recipients	31,549	7,002	130	24,417
Living independently	30,885	6,893	111	23,881
Room and board facility	53	10	0	43
Residential facility	611	99	19	493

State Assistance for Special Needs

Illinois assists with funeral and burial costs of persons who were eligible for state-administered cash or medical assistance at the time of death.

Medicaid

Eligibility

Criteria: State guidelines.

Determined by: State.

Medically Needy Program

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

Unpaid Medical Expenses

The Social Security Administration does not obtain this information.