Data Note #12
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Data Set: SSA
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federally funded program that provides cash assistance for basic needs. Individuals with a low-income who are over the age of 65, blind, or have a disability are eligible for assistance. SSI beneficiaries typically also receive health insurance coverage through Medicaid. Losing Medicaid benefits can be of concern for SSI recipients with disabilities who desire to work, or are currently working. Section 1619b of the Social Security Act allows individuals to work and continue to receive Medicaid assistance when their earnings are too high to qualify for SSI cash payments as long as they meet other eligibility requirements for the SSI program and continue to need Medicaid in order to work.
Researchers explored how many SSI recipients with disabilities work and how many participate in 1619b. Results are displayed in the table found on page 2. In the U.S. as a whole, 25.7% of working SSI recipients participated in 1619bin 2006. The percentage of working SSI recipients who participate in 1619b varied from state to state. Nebraska (20.4%), South Carolina (20.4%), and Ohio (20.7%) had the lowest, and Hawaii (36.5%), the District of Columbia (33.5%), and Florida (33.7%) had the highest percentage of employed SSI recipients participating in 1619b. Additionally, researchers found a moderate, negative relationship between the number of SSI recipients with disabilities who work within a state, and the percentage that are enrolled in the 1619b program (r = - .363, p < .01). In other words, states that have more working SSI recipients with disabilities tend to have fewer participants in the 1619b program. This could be due to a variety of factors, including but not limited to the ability of individuals to access medical insurance through employers, or the capacity of states with large SSI recipient populations to communicate information about 1619b to eligible individuals.
SSI Recipients with Disabilities and 1619b Program Participation by State
State | Number of SSI Recipients who work | Number of 1619b participants who work | Percent of SSI Recipients who work participating in 1619b |
|---|---|---|---|
AK a | 621 | b | *** |
AL | 4,268 | 1,195 | 28.0% |
AR | 3,858 | 897 | 23.3% |
AZ | 4,263 | 1,424 | 33.4% |
CA | 46,849 | 9,945 | 21.2% |
CO | 4,102 | 938 | 22.9% |
CT a | 3,941 | 1,171 | 29.7% |
DC | 795 | 282 | 35.5% |
DE | 969 | 303 | 31.3% |
FL | 13,435 | 4,530 | 33.7% |
GA | 7,213 | 1,839 | 25.5% |
HI a | 926 | 338 | 36.5% |
IA | 6,985 | 1,592 | 22.8% |
ID a | 2,007 | 613 | 30.5% |
IL a | 14,242 | 3,603 | 25.3% |
IN a | 5,911 | 1,589 | 26.9% |
KS a | 4,282 | 1,037 | 24.2% |
KY | 4,843 | 1,249 | 25.8% |
LA | 5,428 | 1,539 | 28.4% |
MA | 9,812 | 3,295 | 33.6% |
MD | 6,277 | 1,658 | 26.4% |
ME | 2,193 | 677 | 30.9% |
MI | 13,664 | 3,159 | 23.1% |
MN a | 10,430 | 2,493 | 23.9% |
MO a | 7,635 | 2,100 | 27.5% |
MS | 3,164 | 938 | 29.6% |
MT | 1,904 | 456 | 23.9% |
NC | 8,353 | 1,974 | 23.6% |
ND a | 1,396 | 357 | 25.6% |
NE a | 3,133 | 639 | 20.4% |
NH | 1,313 | 402 | 30.6% |
NJ | 7,869 | 2,124 | 27.0% |
NM | 2,316 | 645 | 27.8% |
NV a | 1,814 | 561 | 30.9% |
NY | 31,382 | 7,568 | 24.1% |
OH a | 17,170 | 3,546 | 20.7% |
OK a | 4,242 | 1,019 | 24.0% |
OR a | 4,227 | 1,079 | 25.5% |
PA | 16,180 | 4,361 | 27.0% |
RI | 1,641 | 468 | 28.5% |
SC | 4,859 | 992 | 20.4% |
SD | 2,114 | 508 | 24.0% |
TN | 5,352 | 1,360 | 25.4% |
TX | 15,027 | 4,131 | 27.5% |
UT a | 2,517 | 690 | 27.4% |
VA a | 7,198 | 2,018 | 28.0% |
VT | 1,255 | 418 | 33.3% |
WA | 6,415 | 2,197 | 34.2% |
WI | 10,488 | 2,284 | 21.8% |
WV | 2,254 | 654 | 29.0% |
WY | 875 | 278 | 31.8% |
Total | 188,113 | 48,404 | 25.7% |
a. The Social Security Administration identifies persons as potential participants; the state makes final Medicaid determinations.
b. Data are not shown to avoid disclosure of information for particular individuals.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of Policy, SSI Disabled Recipients Who Work, 2006 (www.ssa.gov).
Suggested Citation:
Dennee-Sommers, B., & Smith, F. 2007. SSI recipients with disabilities who work and participation in 1619b. DataNote Series, Data Note XII. Boston, MA: Institute for Community Inclusion.
This is a publication of StateData.info, funded in part by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (#90DN0204). This Data Note was written by Brooke Dennee-Sommers and Frank A. Smith.
State Data is a project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston.
The recommended citation for these charts and data is: Institute for Community Inclusion. (n.d.) StateData.info. Retrieved [today's date] from http://www.statedata.info.
This is a project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston supported in part by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under cooperative agreement #90DN0126 with additional support from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education under grant #H133A021503. The opinions contained in this website are those of the grantee and do not necessarily reflect those of the funders.