State Assistance Programs for SSI Recipients, January 2004

New York

State Supplementation

Mandatory Minimum Supplementation

Administration: Social Security Administration.

Optional State Supplementation

Administration: Social Security Administration. State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance administers an additional $20 payment to some SSI recipients in nursing homes and $5 to recipients in all other Medicaid facilities.

Effective date: January 1, 1974.

Statutory basis for payment: New York State Social Services Law, section 207-212.

Funding

Administration: State funds.

Assistance: State funds.

Passalong method: Maintaining payment levels.

Place of application: Social Security Administration field offices.

Scope of coverage: Optional state supplement provided to all SSI recipients, including children, except those living in publicly operated residences having more than 16 residents, in publicly operated emergency shelters, or in Medicaid facilities where Medicaid pays less than 50 percent of the cost of care. Congregate care is provided in a nonmedical setting. Supplementation for congregate care varies according to geographic area. Children are eligible for optional state supplementation at the congregate care Level I and Level II rates and the living-with-others rate. Children must be placed in facilities certified by the Office of Mental Health, the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, or the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.

Resource limitations: Federal SSI regulations apply.

Income exclusions: Federal SSI regulations apply.

Recoveries, liens, and assignments: None.

Financial responsibility of relatives: Spouse for spouse; parent for child.

Interim assistance: State participates using an automated Interim Assistance Reimbursement matching system.

Payment levels: See Table 1.

Table 1. Optional state supplementation payment levels, January 2004 (in dollars)
Living arrangement State
code		 Combined federal
and state		 State supplementation
Individual Couple Individual Couple
Living alone A 651.00 950.00 87.00 104.00
Living with others B 587.00 892.00 23.00 46.00
Congregate care facility, Level I a C
Areas A and B 830.48 1,660.96 266.48 814.96
Area C 792.48 1,584.96 228.48 738.96
Congregate care facility, Level II b D
Areas A and B 999.00 1,998.00 435.00 1,152.00
Area C 969.00 1,938.00 405.00 1,092.00
Congregate care facility, Level III c E
Area A 1,046.96 2,093.92 482.96 1,247.92
Areas B and C 1,022.96 2,045.92 458.96 1,199.92
Living in the household of another F 399.00 610.00 23.00 46.00
Medicaid facility Z 30.00 60.00 d d
NOTE: Payment levels differ by geographic area. Area A is New York City; Area B is Nassau, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester counties; and Area C is all other counties.
a. The minimum personal needs allowance is $108.
b. The minimum personal needs allowance is $127.
c. The minimum personal needs allowance is $87.
d. The state supplement to recipients living in a Medicaid facility has been discontinued.
DEFINITIONS:
A: Living alone
Includes recipients living either alone, with foster children, with an authorized homemaker, or in a family care home placed by an authorized agency. Also includes recipients living with others but either paying a flat fee for both room and board or preparing their meals separately.
B: Living with others
Includes recipients who reside in a dwelling with others and:
  • Prepare food in common with at least one other person in the dwelling,
  • Are members of a religious community, or
  • Are children who have not been included in state living arrangement C or D.
C: Congregate care facility, Level I
Includes recipients in family-type homes and family care homes. These homes serve persons who are unable to function completely independently. Family-type homes are facilities certified by New York State, supervised by local departments of social services, and operated for the purpose of providing long-term residential care for adults. Family care homes are private households that provide care for mentally disabled persons. Eligibility for care in these homes is based on certification of placement by the local Department of Social Services or an office of the state Department of Mental Hygiene.
D: Congregate care facility, Level II
Includes recipients in residential facilities who are aged or have mental or physical disabilities. Facilities at this level provide residential care for adults (and some children) and are certified, by the New York State Department of Health.
E: Congregate care facility, Level III
Includes recipients in nonmedical privately operated, state-certified, residential facilities that are operated for the purpose of providing treatment, training, and education for mentally retarded or developmentally disabled individuals.
F: Living in the household of another
Includes recipients residing in a federal Code B living arrangement and for New York State purposes is considered part of the living-with-others living arrangement.
Z: Medicaid facility
Includes recipients residing in a federal Code D living arrangement.

Number of recipients: See Table 2.

Table 2. Number of persons receiving optional state supplementation, January 2004
Living arrangement State
code		 Total Aged Blind Disabled
Adults Children
All recipients 597,160 129,640 2,370 377,470 87,680
Living alone A 323,100 98,750 1,380 219,290 3,680
Living with others B 210,720 17,320 710 113,950 78,740
Congregate care facility, Level I C 5,040 270 10 4,130 630
Congregate care facility, Level II D 35,880 4,060 140 29,920 1,760
Congregate care facility, Level III E 150 0 0 150 0
Living in the household of another F 22,270 9,240 130 10,030 2,870
Medicaid facility Z a a a a a
a. The state supplement to recipients living in a Medicaid facility has been discontinued.

State Assistance for Special Needs

Administration

State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.

Special Needs Circumstances

Energy assistance: An emergency assistance grant can be provided to any SSI recipient to safeguard health, safety, and welfare.

Shelter-related expenses: Moving expenses, brokers' fees, security deposits, storage fees, maintenance of home during hospitalization, establishment of a home when deinstitutionalized.

Replacement of basic needs items: Replacement of furniture, clothing, food, fuel, etc., lost as a result of fire, flood, or other catastrophe.

Repair or replacement of major appliances: Repair or replacement of essential household equipment, including heating and plumbing equipment, and major appliances.

Food for guide dog: A recurring assistance grant is provided to unemployed blind or deaf persons for the purchase of food for a guide dog.

Other circumstances: Payments for goods and services already received; chattel mortgages and conditional sales contracts; replacement of lost, stolen, or mismanaged cash; replacement of SSI checks that are lost, stolen, or not received (subject to recoupment).

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.