State Assistance Programs for SSI Recipients, January 2008

Wisconsin

State Supplementation

Mandatory Minimum Supplementation

Administration: No recipients.

Optional State Supplementation

Administration: State Department of Health and Family Services, Division of Disability and Elder Services.

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 2008 (in dollars)
Living arrangement Combined federal and state State supplementation
Individual Couple Individual Couple
Living independently 720.78 1,088.05 83.78 132.05
Living in the household of another 508.45 769.39 83.78 132.05
Living independently with an ineligible spouse 767.43 … 130.43 …
Living in the household of another with an ineligible spouse 559.72 … 135.05 …
Private nonmedical group home or natural residential setting 816.77 1,433.41 179.77 477.41
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 2008
Living arrangement Total Aged Blind Disabled
Adults Children
All recipients 100,217 8,699 933 65,122 25,463
Living independently 66,876 5,724 495 38,880 21,777
Living in the household of another 5,608 326 81 4,138 1,063
Living independently with an ineligible spouse 6,179 907 51 5,217 4
Living in the household of another with an ineligible spouse 68 16 0 52 0
Private nonmedical group home or natural residential setting 21,486 1,726 306 16,835 2,619
SOURCE: State information.

Total expenditures: The state reported expenditures of $132,454,289 for calendar year 2007 in state-administered payments to SSI recipients.

State Assistance for Special Needs

Administration

State Department of Health and Family Services, Division of Disability and Elder Services.

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.