To be eligible for protected Medicaid the disabled widow(er) must:
o Be receiving a Social Security benefit for disabled or aged widows or widowers. (Benefits are available to "early" widows from age 60. These are not based on disability, but receipt of SSI before age 65 is based on disability.)
o Have received SSI for the month before the widow(er) benefits began or increased.
o Have lost SSI when the widow or widower benefits started or increased; or lost SSI because of an increase in some other income.
o Be ineligible for Part A Medicare.
o Have countable income less than the SSI payment for one person. Do not count the widow/widower benefit to determine the countable income.
o Continue to be disabled. For a widow/widower under age 60, Social Security does continuing disability reviews. Do not ask for an MRB disability review while the individual is under age 60 and is receiving widow/widower benefits.
o For a widow/widower age 60+, Social Security will not do continuing disability reviews after the SSI stops. Benefits are based on age, not disability. However, because the widow/widower was receiving SSI before becoming eligible for the widow benefit, disability was established by SSA. For a widow/widower over age 60, complete a disability review through the Medicaid Review Board 12 months after the SSI stops.