Continued Medicaid Eligibility (Section 1619(B))


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 2023 and 2022 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.

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

 

2022 1619(b) THRESHOLD AMOUNTS FOR DISABLED SSI BENEFICIARIES

STATE

THRESHOLD

ALABAMA

$34,521

ALASKA

$82,847

ARIZONA

$44,619

ARKANSAS

$42,141

CALIFORNIA

$54,082

COLORADO

$50,767

CONNECTICUT

$52,750

DELAWARE

$46,118

D.C.

$54,771

FLORIDA

$35,627

GEORGIA

$33,353

HAWAII

$44,962

IDAHO

$43,936

ILLINOIS

$36,327

INDIANA

$39,449

IOWA

$46,446

KANSAS

$37,223

KENTUCKY

$35,658

LOUISIANA

$35,570

MAINE

$44,630

MARYLAND

$46,852

MASSACHUSETTS

$44,068

MICHIGAN

$40,275

MINNESOTA

$66,319

MISSISSIPPI

$35,679

MISSOURI

$47,856

MONTANA

$39,723

NEBRASKA

$41,723

NEVADA

$39,529

NEW HAMPSHIRE

$40,758

NEW JERSEY

$53,202

NEW MEXICO

$44,270

NEW YORK

$50,534

NORTH CAROLINA

$40,301

NORTH DAKOTA

$54,889

OHIO

$40,078

OKLAHOMA

$40,682

OREGON

$39,878

PENNSYLVANIA

$47,813

RHODE ISLAND

$43,534

SOUTH CAROLINA

$35,798

SOUTH DAKOTA

$42,589

TENNESSEE

$37,309

TEXAS

$45,355

UTAH

$49,816

VERMONT

$45,386

VIRGINIA

$46,340

WASHINGTON

$46,925

WEST VIRGINIA

$35,120

WISCONSIN

$44,033

WYOMING

$45,675

 

2022 1619(B) THRESHOLD AMOUNTS FOR BLIND SSI BENEFICIARIES

STATE

THRESHOLD

CALIFORNIA

$55,439

IOWA

$46,974

MASSACHUSETTS

$44,917

NEVADA

$69,896