State Assistance Programs for SSI Recipients, January 2007

North Carolina

State Supplementation

Mandatory Minimum Supplementation

Administration: State Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Aging and Adult Services and Division of Services for the Blind (state-supervised and county-administered).

Optional State Supplementation

Administration: State Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Aging and Adult Services and Division of Services for the Blind (state-supervised and county-administered). Payments are made under the State/County Special Assistance for Adults program.

Effective date: Adult care homes, January 1, 1974; Special Assistance In-home program, July 1, 1999.

Statutory basis for payment: General Statutes of North Carolina 108A.40 through 108A.47 and chapter 111 and chapter 143B-139.5; Session Law 1999-237; and Session Law 2005-0276, section 10.39(a).

Funding

Administration: 100 percent county funds.

Assistance: 50 percent state funds; 50 percent county funds.

Passalong method: Maintaining payment levels.

Place of application: County Department of Social Services.

Scope of coverage: Optional state supplement provided to all aged, blind, and disabled adults living in adult care homes. A separate optional state supplement is provided for those in private living arrangements who are at risk for going into an adult care home; the supplement enables them to remain safely at home. Children under age 18 are not eligible for optional supplementation.

Resource limitations: Federal SSI regulations apply.

Income exclusions

All categories: A $20 exemption applies to any income, including SSI, with the exception of income received as a Veterans Administration (VA) pension payment or a VA compensation payment to the surviving parent of a veteran.

Aged and disabled: Federal SSI regulations apply.

Blind: For earned income, exclude the first $85 plus one-half of the remainder.

Recoveries, liens, and assignments: None.

Financial responsibility of relatives: None.

Interim assistance: State participates.

Payment calculation method: A standard applies that is established by the state for the total SSI payment. The federal SSI payment and any countable income are deducted from the state standard. The remainder is the state supplementation for those in adult care homes. For recipients in the Special Assistance In-home program, a maximum state supplement is 75 percent of the supplement paid for a recipient in an adult care home.

Payment levels: See Table 1.

Table 1. Optional state supplementation payment levels, January 2007 (in dollars)
Living arrangement	Combined federal and state		State supplementation
Living arrangement	Individual	Couple	Individual	Couple
Adult care home
Basic (aged, blind, and disabled) ^a	1,194.00	b	571.00	b
Disenfranchised (aged and disabled)	1,297.00	b	674.00	b
Special care unit (aged, blind, and disabled)	1,561.00	b	938.00	b
In home (aged, blind, and disabled) ^c	1,108.00	b	277.00	b
Blind, pending SSI eligibility ^d
Not paying shelter and utilities	. . .	. . .	97.00	194.00 ^e
Paying shelter and utilities	. . .	. . .	146.00	243.00 ^f
SOURCES: Social Security Administration, Office of Income Security Programs; state information.
NOTE: . . . = not applicable.
a. An additional $20 income exclusion is allowed. In addition, a $46 personal needs allowance is included in the optional supplementation.
b. Couples residing in these living arrangements are treated as individuals.
c. Payment after subtracting the federal poverty level ($851) from basic rate times 75 percent.
d. This is a temporary supplement paid until SSI eligibility is determined. This is for people who are currently in a private living arrangement.
e. If only one member of the couple is blind, payment level is $146.
f. If only one member of the couple is blind, payment level is $219.
DEFINITION: Adult care home Includes recipients residing in an assisted living residence in which the housing management provides 24-hour scheduled and unscheduled personal care services to two or more residents either directly or, for scheduled needs, through formal written agreement with licensed home care or hospice agencies. Recipients residing in a special care unit for Alzheimer's in an adult care home are eligible for a higher payment amount.

Number of recipients: See Table 2.

Table 2. Number of persons receiving optional state supplementation, January 2007
Living arrangement	Total	Aged	Blind	Disabled
All recipients	24,959	12,476	88	12,395
Adult care home
Basic	23,203	11,211	88	11,904
Disenfranchised	0	0	0	0
Special care unit	666	633	0	33
In home (aged, blind, and disabled)	1,090	632	0	458
SOURCE: State information.

Total expenditures: The state reported expenditures of $135,027,291 in calendar year 2006 in state-administered payments to SSI recipients.

State Assistance for Special Needs

State does not provide assistance for special needs.

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.