Continued Medicaid Eligibility (Section 1619(B))

What is Medicaid?

One of the biggest concerns SSI beneficiaries have about going to work is the possibility of losing Medicaid coverage. Section 1619(b) of the Social Security Act provides some protection for these beneficiaries. To qualify for continuing Medicaid coverage, a person must:

  • Have been eligible for an SSI cash payment for at least 1 month;
  • Still meet the disability requirement; and
  • Still meet all other non-disability SSI requirements; and
  • Need Medicaid benefits to continue to work; and
  • Have gross earnings that are insufficient to replace SSI, Medicaid and publicly funded attendant care services.

This means that SSI beneficiaries who have earnings too high for a SSI cash payment may be eligible for Medicaid if they meet the above requirements. SSA uses a threshold amount to measure whether a person’s earnings are high enough to replace his/her SSI and Medicaid benefits. This threshold is based on the:

  • amount of earnings which would cause SSI cash payments to stop in the person’s State; and
  • average Medicaid expenses in that State.

If a SSI beneficiary has gross earnings higher than the threshold amount for his/her State, SSA can figure an individual threshold amount if that person has:

We show the 2024 and 2023 threshold amounts for each State below for disabled and blind beneficiaries. (Please note that four states have separate threshold amounts for blind beneficiaries.) We usually update these amounts annually for the prior calendar year. These amounts continue in effect until replaced with the next year’s amounts when they become available.


2024 1619(b) THRESHOLD AMOUNTS FOR DISABLED SSI BENEFICIARIES

STATE

THRESHOLD

ALABAMA

$37,246

ALASKA

$86,438

ARIZONA

$53,159

ARKANSAS

$38,551

CALIFORNIA

$58,638

COLORADO

$52,578

CONNECTICUT

$54,293

DELAWARE

$50,146

D.C.

$54,775

FLORIDA

$36,734

GEORGIA

$35,761

HAWAII

$49,781

IDAHO

$47,643

ILLINOIS

$38,906

INDIANA

$39,153

IOWA

$45,246

KANSAS

$44,316

KENTUCKY

$45,921

LOUISIANA

$38,748

MAINE

$48,959

MARYLAND

$52,892

MASSACHUSETTS

$44,965

MICHIGAN

$43,228

MINNESOTA

$74,611

MISSISSIPPI

$37,847

MISSOURI

$44,287

MONTANA

$44,272

NEBRASKA

$52,190

NEVADA

$41,941

NEW HAMPSHIRE

$45,194

NEW JERSEY

$51,902

NEW MEXICO

$48,855

NEW YORK

$59,826

NORTH CAROLINA

$43,307

NORTH DAKOTA

$53,007

OHIO

$40,936

OKLAHOMA

$42,494

OREGON

$42,955

PENNSYLVANIA

$50,536

RHODE ISLAND

$41,109

SOUTH CAROLINA

$39,557

SOUTH DAKOTA

$43,595

TENNESSEE

$34,490

TEXAS

$50,161

UTAH

$46,961

VERMONT

$40,339

VIRGINIA

$45,976

WASHINGTON

$57,954

WEST VIRGINIA

$35,216

WISCONSIN

$46,545

WYOMING

$42,527

 

2024 1619(B) THRESHOLD AMOUNTS FOR BLIND SSI BENEFICIARIES

STATE

THRESHOLD

CALIFORNIA

$60,663

IOWA

$45,774

MASSACHUSETTS

$45,814

NEVADA

$44,564

 

2023 1619(b) THRESHOLD AMOUNTS FOR DISABLED SSI BENEFICIARIES

STATE

THRESHOLD

ALABAMA

$37,617

ALASKA

$85,727

ARIZONA

$46,371

ARKANSAS

$43,893

CALIFORNIA

$57,251

COLORADO

$52,519

CONNECTICUT

$54,502

DELAWARE

$47,870

D.C.

$56,523

FLORIDA

$37,379

GEORGIA

$35,105

HAWAII

$46,714

IDAHO

$45,688

ILLINOIS

$38,079

INDIANA

$41,201

IOWA

$48,198

KANSAS

$38,975

KENTUCKY

$38,898

LOUISIANA

$37,322

MAINE

$46,382

MARYLAND

$48,604

MASSACHUSETTS

$45,820

MICHIGAN

$42,027

MINNESOTA

$68,071

MISSISSIPPI

$37,431

MISSOURI

$49,608

MONTANA

$41,475

NEBRASKA

$43,475

NEVADA

$41,281

NEW HAMPSHIRE

$42,510

NEW JERSEY

$54,954

NEW MEXICO

$46,022

NEW YORK

$52,286

NORTH CAROLINA

$42,053

NORTH DAKOTA

$56,641

OHIO

$41,830

OKLAHOMA

$42,434

OREGON

$41,630

PENNSYLVANIA

$49,565

RHODE ISLAND

$45,286

SOUTH CAROLINA

$37,550

SOUTH DAKOTA

$44,341

TENNESSEE

$39,061

TEXAS

$47,107

UTAH

$51,568

VERMONT

$47,138

VIRGINIA

$48,092

WASHINGTON

$48,677

WEST VIRGINIA

$36,872

WISCONSIN

$45,785

WYOMING

$47,427

 

2023 1619(B) THRESHOLD AMOUNTS FOR BLIND SSI BENEFICIARIES

STATE

THRESHOLD

CALIFORNIA

$59,105

IOWA

$48,726

MASSACHUSETTS

$48,013

NEVADA

$72,776