Medicaid

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What is Medicaid?

Medicaid is a jointly funded, Federal-State low income health insurance program for low-income and needy people. It provides free or low cost health insurance coverage. It covers children, the aged, blind, and/or disabled and other people who are eligible to receive federally assisted income maintenance payments.

Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia provide Medicaid eligibility to people eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI ) benefits. In these States, the SSI application is also the Medicaid application. Medicaid eligibility starts the same months as SSI eligibility.

The following jurisdictions use the same rules to decide eligibility for Medicaid as SSA uses for SSI, but require the filing of a separate application: Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Northern Mariana Islands

The following States use their own eligibility rules for Medicaid, which are different from SSA`s SSI rules. In these States a separate application for Medicaid must be filed: Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia.

What happens to Medicaid coverage if a SSI recipient works?

If a recipient`s State provides Medicaid to people on SSI, the recipient will continue to be eligible for Medicaid.

Medicaid coverage can continue even it a recipient`s earnings along with other income become too high for a SSI cash payment.

How does a recipient qualify?

To qualify a recipient must:

Have been eligible for an SSI cash payment for at least one month;
Still be disabled;
Still meet all other eligibility rules, including the resources test;
Need Medicaid in order to work; and
Have gross earned income that is insufficient to replace SSI, Medicaid, and any publicly funded attendant care. (Refer to Red Book for the "threshold amount" section.)

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (formerly HCFA) oversees State administration of Medicaid. You may go to that web site at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov.

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Medicaid

What is Medicaid?

What happens to Medicaid coverage if a SSI recipient works?

How does a recipient qualify?