Person of interest is in nursing home and her maximum $ limits are met. She received $1200 stimulus check from government. Can she buy gifts for others, give the money to family or friends, give to charity, or must she spend on herself? Or will it have to go to the nursing home?
SSI
The Social Security Administration will not consider COVID-19 Economic Impact payments as income for SSI recipients, so the stimulus payment will not disqualify an SSI recipient from eligibility due to being over-income in the month the payment is received.
The stimulus payments are also excluded as resources (assets) for 12 months. This means that the stimulus payment can remain in an SSI recipient’s bank account for up to 12 months without being counted toward the $2,000 SSI resource limit. If the Economic Impact payments are not fully spent within 12 months of receipt, the money will count toward the SSI $2,000 resource limit at that point.
Medicaid
Similarly, the Medicaid program will not count the stimulus money as income in the month it is received, which means the money cannot push the Medicaid beneficiary over the Medicaid income limit for that month.
And like the SSI program, Medicaid will not count the stimulus payment as a resource for 12 months from the date of receipt. The stimulus money can stay in the Medicaid recipient’s bank account for 12 months without being counted toward the $2,000 Medicaid resource eligibility limit. Any stimulus funds still
remaining after twelve months will be counted as a resource/asset at that time.
Spouses of Medicaid Long-Term Care Recipients
An individual who is not covered by Medicaid may be married to a spouse on Medicaid who receives caregiving services at home, or who lives in a nursing home, assisted living facility, adult care home, or other long-term care facilities. The non-Medicaid spouse is sometimes referred to as the “Community Spouse.” The Community Spouse’s stimulus check should have no impact on the Medicaid eligibility of the Medicaid spouse for two reasons. First, the money from the stimulus check is not considered income by Medicaid. Second, even if it were, the Community Spouse’s income does not affect the ongoing Medicaid eligibility of the Medicaid spouse.
Finally, because the Community’s Spouse’s resources are only considered during the Medicaid initial eligibility determination process, the Community Spouse does not need to spend his or her stimulus payment within 12 months. The Community Spouse’s stimulus payment will not affect the Medicaid spouse regardless of how long the money remains in the Community Spouse’s bank account.
Here is where I got the info above:
https://www.naylaw.com/blog/will-the-stimulus-payment-affect-an-individuals-medicaid-and-ssi-benefits-eligibility/
https://www.medicaid.gov/resources-for-states/disaster-response-toolkit/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/index.html