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MISSISSIPPI DIVISION OF MEDICAID Eligibility Policy and Procedures Manual CHAPTER 102 – Non-Financial Requirements Page |65 Effective Month: September 2018 102.07 CATEGORICAL ELIGIBILITY Eligibility for the Medicaid program is limited to certain groups of individuals authorized by Congress. When authorizing a group, Congress also establishes specific requirements which must be met to qualify as a member of that group. Each designated group is assigned a category of assistance. The requirements which must be met to fit into a group or category are known as categorical requirements. The Division of Medicaid is responsible for the following categories of assistance as specified in Chapter 101, Section 101.02, Coverage of the Categorically Needy in Mississippi: • Aged, • Blind, • Disabled, • Children under age 19, • Pregnant women, • Low-income parent(s) or caretaker relatives of dependent children (under 18). • Former foster children to age 26 (in the event the foster child’s eligibility is not enabled systematically). Aged An individual categorically eligible as aged must be 65 years of age or older. According to SSI policy, a given age is attained on the first moment of the day preceding the anniversary of the individual’s birth. Example: A person born on January 1, 1943, is considered to be age 65 as of December 31, 2007, and meets the definition of an aged individual in the month of December 2007. A person born January 2, 1943, meets the definition of an aged individual in January 2008. Blindness and Disability To be categorically eligible for Medicaid as blind or disabled, the individual must, at a minimum, meet the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) definition of blindness or disability. The Disability Determination Service (DDS) makes all decisions relating to disability and blindness for the Division of Medicaid and the Social Security Administration (SSA).