State Assistance Programs for SSI Recipients, January 2009

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 is 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. Noncitizens living in the community who are eligible because the federal 7-year limit has expired are given a flat $500 allowance. This program went into effect July 15, 2004.

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 before 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 minor child, except when child has married.

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, which is based on individual income maintenance needs. The remainder is the state supplementation.

Payment levels: See Table 1.

Table 1. Optional state supplementation payment levels, January 2009 (in dollars)
Living arrangement	Combined federal and state		State supplementation
Living arrangement	Individual	Couple	Individual	Couple
Living independently	a	a	a	a
Room and board facility	a	a	a	a
Residential facility	a	a	a	a
SOURCES: Social Security Administration, Office of Income Security Programs; state information.
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 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 2009
Living arrangement	Total	Aged	Blind	Disabled
All recipients	29,882	6,059	110	23,713
Living independently	29,412	5,991	108	23,313
Room and board facility	27	5	0	22
Residential facility	443	63	2	378
SOURCE: State information.

Total expenditures: The state reported expenditures of $29,511,412 for calendar year 2008 in state-administered payments to SSI recipients.

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 and for children and caretakers.

Unpaid Medical Expenses

The Social Security Administration does not obtain this information.