Thousands of Children Potentially Eligible for Supplemental Security Income Aren’t Getting It: Medicaid Data Could Help Find Them
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From 2013 to 2021, the number of children receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) fell by nearly 20 percent, and there was a particularly large decline in applications during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because people still need services, the declining enrollment suggests that there might be more children who qualify for SSI but are not enrolled. Researchers are investigating ways to identify children that might be eligible for SSI but have not yet enrolled.
Medicaid data might be a useful place to look for potential SSI enrollees Medicaid offers health insurance to individuals and families with low income, and many people enrolled in Medicaid might also be eligible to receive SSI benefits. Using Medicaid data, researchers estimate that more than 110,000 children might be eligible for SSI but are not currently enrolled in the program, which would be an increase of nearly 10 percent over the current number of children who receive SSI. Data alone cannot paint the full picture of a person’s disability, but they are a useful starting point to identify children that might be eligible for SSI.More like this from Mathematica
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