State Assistance Programs for SSI Recipients, January 2008

New Hampshire

State Supplementation

Mandatory Minimum Supplementation

Administration: State Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Family Assistance.

Optional State Supplementation

Administration: Local offices of the state Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Family Assistance.

Effective date: January 1, 1974.

Statutory basis for payment: New Hampshire Revised Statutes, as amended, section 167:7, I, II, III, IV.

Funding

Administration: State funds.

Aged and disabled assistance: 50 percent state funds, 50 percent county funds.

Blind assistance: 100 percent state funds.

Passalong method: Maintaining payment levels.

Place of application: Local offices of the Division of Family Assistance.

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. Persons living in the household of another receive the same state supplement as those living independently.

Resource limitations: No monetary or acreage limitation on property occupied as a home. Personal property limited to $1,500 net cash value for an individual or a couple excluding clothing, household furnishings, tools, car, life insurance, and farm equipment or livestock used for food needs. Equity value of each individual's life insurance policies is counted as a resource when the total combined equity value of the policies exceeds $1,500; it is excluded as a resource if the total combined equity value of the policies is less than $1,500 or the state has been named the beneficiary to the policies.

Income exclusions

Standard exclusions

Standard exclusions for any income, including SSI (in dollars)
Living arrangement Individual Couple
Living independently 13.00 20.00
Living with an essential person 25.00 25.00
Residential care facility for adults 13.00
Enhanced family care facility 13.00
Community residence 13.00
NOTE: … = not applicable.
Earned income exclusions

Other exclusions: If recipient receives income from other persons in exchange for providing only room for such persons, $50 per person is deducted from such income. Actual expenses if greater may be allowed, subject to verification.

If income is received in exchange for room and board, the Food Stamp coupon allotment for each boarder is deducted in addition to the amounts given above.

Recoveries, liens, and assignments

Aged, blind, and disabled: All aid is by law a lien on the estate of the recipient or spouse. Lien is not enforced as long as the individual or spouse is still living and for as long as the property is lawfully occupied by the recipient and/or surviving spouse unless it is sold or refinanced while the lien is in place. State may waive recovery.

Financial responsibility of relatives: Spouse for spouse; parent or stepparent for 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.

Table 1. Optional state supplementation payment levels, January 2008 (in dollars)
Living arrangement Combined federal and state State supplementation
Individual Couple Individual Couple
Living independently or in the household of another 698.00 984.00 61.00 28.00
Living with an essential person a 1,290.00 15.00
Residential care facility for adults 858.00 b 221.00 b
Enhanced family care facility 858.00 b 221.00 b
Community residence
Nonsubsidized 800.00 163.00
Subsidized 740.00 103.00
Medicaid facility 56.00 26.00
SOURCES: Social Security Administration, Office of Income Security Programs; state information.
NOTE: … = not applicable.
a. Applies only to SSI recipients converted from former state assistance programs.
b. The state supplementation rate for individuals applies to each member of a couple.
DEFINITIONS:
Living independently or in the household of another.
Includes all adult recipients residing in a federal Code A or B living arrangement who are not included in any other state living arrangement. Also includes blind children residing in a federal Code A, B, or C living arrangement.
Living with an essential person.
Includes recipients living in a private household with a person who provides the essential care and personal services that enable them to remain in their household.
Residential care facility for adults.
Facilities that provide housing for 1 to 25 elderly or physically disabled adults who cannot live alone but do not require nursing home care.
Enhanced family care facility.
Community residences that are owned and operated by a person or family living in the residence. One or more individuals receive services in a certified family environment, and members of the host family provide the primary daily support.
Community residence.
A facility that provides housing on a 24-hour basis to mentally ill or developmentally impaired persons. Care provided is a combination of supervised social, personal, and mental health services. The appropriate community residence standard of need is based on whether the resident received any type of subsidy from the Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services.
Medicaid facility.
Includes recipients residing in a federal Code D living arrangement.

Number of recipients: See Table 2.

Table 2. Number of persons receiving optional state supplementation, January 2008
Living arrangement Total Aged Blind a Disabled
All recipients 21,882 8,511 390 12,981
Living independently or in the household of another 15,258 3,820 297 11,141
Living with an essential person 17 4 1 12
Residential care facility for adults 374 262 2 110
Enhanced family care facility 957 138 45 774
Community residence
Nonsubsidized 70 14 2 54
Subsidized 592 70 27 495
Medicaid facility 4,614 4,203 16 395
SOURCE: State information.
NOTE: Includes certain grandfathered, non-SSI recipients who meet state eligibility criteria.
a. Only blind children are eligible for optional supplementation; they are included in counts for the blind.

Total expenditures: Not available.

State Assistance for Special Needs

State does not provide assistance for special needs.

Medicare

Eligibility

Criteria: State guidelines.

Determined by: State.

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.