State Assistance Programs for SSI Recipients, January 2009
Maine
State Supplementation
Mandatory Minimum Supplementation
Administration: State Department of Health and Human Services.
Optional State Supplementation
Administration: State Department of Health and Human Services.
Effective date: July 1, 1974.
Statutory basis for payment: Maine Revised Statutes, title 22, subtitle 3, part 1-A, chapter 855-A.
Funding
Administration: State funds.
Assistance: State funds.
Passalong method: Maintaining payment levels.
Place of application: Local offices of the state Department of Health and Human Services.
Scope of coverage: Optional state supplement provided to all aged, blind, and disabled SSI recipients, including children. In addition, a small number of persons not eligible for SSI are eligible for a state supplement.
Resource limitations: Federal SSI regulations apply.
Income exclusions: Federal SSI regulations apply for all living arrangements. In addition, for those living alone, with others, or in the household of another, the state disregards an additional $55 for individuals and $80 for couples.
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.
Payment levels: See Table 1.
| Living arrangement | Combined federal and state | State supplementation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | Couple | Individual | Couple | |
| Living alone or with others | 684.00 | 1,026.00 | 10.00 | 15.00 |
| Living in the household of another | 457.34 | 686.00 | 8.00 | 12.00 |
| Foster home | 723.00 | 1,284.00 | 49.00 | 273.00 |
| Flat-rate boarding home | 891.00 | 1,601.00 | 217.00 | 590.00 |
| Cost-reimbursement boarding home | 908.00 | 1,647.00 | 234.00 | 636.00 |
| Medicaid facility | 40.00 | 80.00 | 10.00 | 20.00 |
| SOURCES: Social Security Administration, Office of Income Security Programs; state information. | ||||
DEFINITIONS:
|
||||
Number of recipients: See Table 2.
| Living arrangement | Total | Aged | Blind | Disabled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All recipients | 42,313 | -- | -- | -- |
| Living alone or with others | 40,649 | -- | -- | -- |
| Living in the household of another | 298 | -- | -- | -- |
| Foster home | 255 | -- | -- | -- |
| Flat-rate boarding home | 14 | -- | -- | -- |
| Cost-reimbursement boarding home | 1,097 | -- | -- | -- |
| Medicaid facility | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| SOURCE: State information. | ||||
| NOTE: -- = not available. | ||||
Total expenditures: The state reported expenditures of $5,327,002.23 for calendar year 2008 in state-administered payments to SSI recipients.
State Assistance for Special Needs
Administration
State Department of Health and Human Services.
Special Needs Circumstances
Licensed boarding home subsidies: When costs of care exceed total of SSI and state supplementary payments, state will pay the difference up to established maximum rates.
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 state Department of Health and Human Services obtains this information.