State Assistance Programs for SSI Recipients, January 2009
Minnesota
State Supplementation
Mandatory Minimum Supplementation
No recipients.
Optional State Supplementation
Administration: Local county offices of the state Welfare and Human Services Agencies (state-supervised). Payments are made under the Minnesota Supplemental Aid Program and the Group Residential Housing Program.
Effective date: April 1, 1974.
Statutory basis for payment: Minnesota Statutes Annotated, sections 256D.33-256D.54 and 256I.01-256I.06.
Funding
Administration: County funds; except state expenses, which are state-funded.
Assistance: State funds.
Passalong method: Maintaining payment levels.
Place of application: County Welfare and Human Services Agencies.
Scope of coverage: Optional state supplement provided to SSI recipients, including blind children under the age of 18 and disabled adult children, residing in the specified living arrangements.
Resource limitations: Federal SSI regulations apply.
Income exclusions: Federal SSI regulations apply.
Recoveries, liens, and assignments: None.
Financial responsibility of relatives: Spouse for spouse; parent or stepparent for blind minor child.
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 independently | ||||
Entitlement before January 1, 1994 | 735.00 | 1,117.00 | 81.00 | 126.00 |
Entitlement January 1, 1994, or later | 735.00 | 1,102.00 | 81.00 | 111.00 |
Living in the household of another | ||||
Entitlement before January 1, 1994 | 542.00 | 1,001.00 | 112.66 | 347.00 |
Entitlement January 1, 1994, or later | 542.00 | 738.00 | 112.66 | 84.00 |
Nonmedical, group residential facility a | 885.00 | b | 130.00 | b |
Medicaid facility | 89.00 | b | 59.00 | b |
SOURCES: Social Security Administration, Office of Income Security Programs; state information. | ||||
NOTE: Minnesota Supplemental Aid Program excludes the first $20 of the SSI payment for recipients who live independently. | ||||
a. Includes $89 a month for clothing and personal needs and a $12 a month community living adjustment. | ||||
b. Couples are treated as two individuals starting with the month after leaving an independent living arrangement. | ||||
DEFINITIONS:
|
Number of recipients: See Table 2.
Living arrangement | Total | Aged | Blind | Disabled |
---|---|---|---|---|
All recipients | 38,940 | 11,801 | 271 | 26,868 |
Living independently | 25,198 | 8,449 | 136 | 16,613 |
Living in the household of another | 1,875 | 1,382 | 8 | 485 |
Nonmedical, group residential facility | 8,169 | 1,563 | 70 | 6,536 |
Medicaid facility | 3,698 | 407 | 57 | 3,234 |
SOURCE: State information. |
Total expenditures: The state reported expenditures of $86,919,777 for calendar year 2008 in state-administered payments to SSI recipients.
State Assistance for Special Needs
Administration
Local county offices of the state Welfare and Human Services Agencies (state-supervised).
Special Needs Circumstances
Amounts of assistance for items not covered by the mandatory state standards are determined on the basis of need in each case.
Diets: Specified modified diets, when prescribed by a physician, are allowed at designated rate.
Guardianship fees: Five percent of gross monthly income (including SSI) up to a maximum of $100 per month.
Representative payee services: Ten percent of gross monthly income, up to a maximum of $25, for services provided by an agency that meets the requirements under SSI regulations to charge a fee for payee services.
Emergency aid: Available once a year for specified needs.
Housing and major repairs: Catastrophic situations for homeowners who live in their homes, rent deposits, and moving expenses.
Furniture and appliances: Necessary repairs and replacements.
Utility shutoffs.
Shelter need provision: A supplemental payment, equal to the maximum SNAP or Food Stamp allotment for an individual, is granted to participants when relocating from an institution into the community; or who are eligible for in-home medical services; if their shelter costs exceed 40 percent of their income. Recipients of the shelter who have a special need must apply for subsidized housing.
Medicaid
Eligibility
Criteria: State guidelines.
Determined by: Local county offices of the state Welfare and Human Services Agencies (state-supervised).
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.