Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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The average SSI check is $852.77 in California but $670.74 in Montana
Supplemental Security Income recipients in Montana averaged $670.74 a month in August 2026, the lowest state figure in the Social Security Administration’s monthly statistics. Recipients in California averaged $852.77, the highest, a difference of $182.03 a month. The national average across all recipients was $738.73. Table 8 puts the extremes $182.03 apart SSA’s table of…
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The federal SSI check drops to $30 a month once Medicaid pays most of a recipient’s nursing home bill for a full month
One full calendar month in a nursing home or other medical facility can shrink a Supplemental Security Income recipient’s federal check from $994 to $30 when Medicaid covers more than half of the cost of care. The Social Security Administration states the $30 limit in its guide to living arrangements, and a 90-day exception can…
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SSI recipients who go to work can keep Medicaid on earnings up to $84,208 in Minnesota but only $40,026 in Alabama
A Supplemental Security Income recipient who takes a job can lose the cash payment and still keep Medicaid, up to a limit that depends on the state. In 2026 that limit is $84,208 in Minnesota and $40,026 in Alabama, the lowest of any state, according to the Social Security Administration’s table of Section 1619(b) thresholds.…
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Candy is still allowed on food stamps in Utah, Ohio, Virginia, Wyoming and Hawaii, where the limits target only drinks
Five states have SNAP food restrictions on the books that reach only what goes in a cup, not what goes in a candy dish. Utah, Ohio, Virginia, Wyoming and Hawaii each restrict beverages under waivers the U.S. Department of Agriculture lists, and none of the five lists candy. Only Utah’s limit has started, and the…
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Florida counts Diet Coke as soda and bars energy drinks from food stamps, while Gatorade still qualifies
A zero-calorie label does not exempt a can from Florida’s food stamp rules. The state’s Healthy SNAP definition of soda covers carbonated water sweetened with artificial sweeteners as well as sugar, and the Florida Department of Children and Families names Diet Coke as an example. Energy drinks are barred too, while Gatorade still qualifies. Diet…
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Arkansas food stamp limits now cover diet soda and drinks under 50% juice
On an Arkansas grocery shelf, the percentage printed on a juice carton now matters to a SNAP card. The state’s food restriction waiver, in force since July 1, 2026, bars low-calorie and no-calorie soda along with fruit and vegetable drinks that contain less than 50% natural juice. Candy and other “unhealthy” drinks are on the…
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Disabled widows and widowers average $985.57 a month from Social Security, about half what other surviving spouses get
A widow or widower who has a disability and collects Social Security as a surviving spouse received an average of $985.57 a month in August 2026. Nondisabled widows and widowers averaged $1,934.37, so the disabled group’s average was about 51% of the other. The figures come from the Social Security Administration’s monthly statistical snapshot, and…
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About 2.5 million Americans collect both Social Security and SSI, federal data show
About one in every 30 people who receive money from the Social Security Administration gets two checks from it. The agency’s August 2026 statistical snapshot counts 75.88 million people on Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or both, and 2.516 million of them, or about 2.5 million, collect both. The overlap is a mix of…
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New Mexico will let Medigap customers switch plans each birthday without health questions starting Jan. 1, as West Virginia did in June
Starting Jan. 1, 2027, New Mexicans who are 65 and older and hold a Medigap policy get a 60-day window every year, opening in the birthday month, to move to another plan without health questions standing in the way. West Virginia’s version took effect on June 11, 2026. New Mexico’s aging department says more than…
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Virginia shuts off old food stamp cards 60 days after mailing the new chip card, activated or not, and New Jersey’s expire 60 days after issue
Two states, two sets of 60 days. Virginia’s Department of Social Services says an old SNAP card deactivates 60 days after the new card is mailed, whether or not the household has activated the replacement. New Jersey’s cards expire 60 days after new ones are issued. The counting starts at a different moment in each…