Important Information for People on SSI Who Apply for Medicaid Long-Term Care

To complete a Medicaid application for Long Term Care, Supports and Services (i.e., Home & Community Based Services or Nursing Home care), applicants must provide proof of their financial resources for the past five years. This includes submitting statements for all bank accounts during this five-year look-back period.  People on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) who receive their benefits on a Direct Express card have typically been asked to provide Direct Express statements to satisfy the look-back requirement. But this has been problematic because applicants who contact Direct Express for statements report lack of responsiveness.

After successful advocacy by colleagues at Community Legal Services, the state Department of Human Services (DHS) agreed to no longer require verification of Direct Express accounts for Medicaid Long-Term Care applications!  DHS will issuing a Policy Clarification about this change.  There current Policy Clarification (PMN-19932-472) instructs County Assistance Offices to use the Direct Express balance reported on an application when someone cannot verify this information during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This change may not have been communicated to all the County Assistance Offices.  People on SSI who are still asked to provide Direct Express information should contact their local Legal Aid office or PHLP’s Helpline (1-800-274-3258 or staff@phlp.org) for assistance.  We will update readers when the expected Policy Clarification is issued.