Living in a shelter, medical treatment facility, or a correctional facility may affect your Social Security Disability benefits. Possibly living in a public institution could make a person ineligible for benefits in general. According to Social Security, if you enter a nursing home or hospital (or other medical facility) where Medicaid pays for more than half of the cost of your care, your SSI benefit is limited to $30.00 per month. Some States supplement this $30.00 benefit. Social Security may lower the SSI benefit by any income you may have. However, Section 1611(e)(1)(G) of the Social Security Act provides that Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients, who are temporarily institutionalized for medical care can get benefits during the first 3 full months of institutionalization to pay expenses to maintain their home or living arrangement where they may return upon discharge. Social Security refers to benefits paid under §1611(e)(1)(G) as temporary institutionalization (TI) benefits. Often times the answer depends on the type of living arrangement and facility you are living in.
For young adults who are age 18 or over and live in a public medical facility where Medicaid is not paying for more than half of the cost of your care, you are not eligible for any SSI benefits. If a child under age 18 enters a nursing home, hospital or other medical facility where Medicaid and/or private health insurance pays for more than half of the cost of care, the child’s SSI benefit is limited to $30 a month (plus any supplementary State payment). Social Security may reduce the SSI benefit by any income the child may have. If a child under age 18 lives in a public facility where neither Medicaid nor private health insurance, either alone or in combination, is paying for more than half of the cost of care, the child is not be eligible for any SSI benefit.
An SSI recipient (including an eligible child) may continue to receive benefits (including State supplementation) without interruption based on the full federal benefit rate (FBR) for any of the first 3 full months of medical confinement if for those months the recipient otherwise would be subject to the $30 payment limit, or ineligible due to residence in a public medical institution (payment status NO2). Additionally, the recipient’s admittance must be to a public institution, the primary purpose of which is the provision of medical or psychiatric care, or a public or private Medicaid-certified medical treatment facility.
