State Assistance Programs for SSI Recipients, January 2009

Louisiana

State Supplementation

Minimum State Supplementation

Administration: Social Security Administration.

Optional State Supplementation

Administration: State Department of Health and Hospitals, Bureau of Health Services Financing.

Effective date: March 1, 1982.

Statutory basis for payment: Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 133, 1980.

Funding

Administration: State funds.

Assistance: State funds.

Passalong method: Maintaining payment levels.

Place of application: Local offices of the state Bureau of Health Services Financing and contractors.

Scope of coverage: Optional state supplement provided to all aged, blind, and disabled persons, including children, who reside in a nonpsychiatric Medicaid long-term care facility.

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 does not participate.

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.

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
Medicaid facility	38.00	76.00	8.00	16.00
SOURCES: Social Security Administration, Office of Income Security Programs; state information.
DEFINITION: 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 2009
Living arrangement	Total	Aged	Blind	Disabled
Medicaid facility	4,301	1,148	40	3,113
SOURCE: State information.

Total expenditures: The state reported expenditures of $415,702 for calendar year 2008 in state-administered payments to SSI recipients.

State Assistance for Special Needs

State provides assistance for special needs only to recipients who were determined eligible on or before December 1975.

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 obtains this information.