You can lose your SSI and Medicaid benefits traveling abroad: Here’s what NOT to do

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid recipients should be aware that traveling outside the United States could put their benefits in jeopardy if they don’t take the proper precautions. As a rule, beneficiaries are required to report their absence when they leave the U.S. for a full calendar month or 30 consecutive days or longer, at which point they will become ineligible for benefits.

There is an exception for blind or disabled children of military parents stationed outside the U.S. and students receiving SSI. They can continue to receive their SSI benefits, students for a maximum of 12 months, but they will not be eligible for Medicaid benefits while abroad.

In the event a recipient loses their benefits they can get them reinstated, but only after they can prove that they’ve been present in the United States for at least 30 days.

What to know to avoid losing SSI and Medicaid benefits if you travel abroad

First and foremost, it is advisable to consult an experienced attorney or Medicaid representative to protect your SSI and Medicaid eligibility if you plan to travel outside of the U.S. for more than 30 days.

You should be aware that Medicaid eligibility varies by state. The District of Columbia and 34 states let Social Security determine Medicaid eligibility using SSI criteria. They also allow Social Security to automatically enroll SSI recipients in Medicaid.

Eight states guarantee SSI recipients Medicaid but you must apply separately. They include: Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah.

Eight other states have their own Medicaid eligibility criteria which is stricter than SSI criteria. These include: Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Virginia.

You can check to see if your Medicaid coverage will help you if you are injured while traveling outside your state of residence.

How will Social Security know if an SSI recipient has been absent from the U.S.?

CPT Institute, a non-profit organization specializing in special needs, lists some of the factors that may indicate that an SSI recipient has been out of the country, which are as follows below:

• Failing to respond to a request for information to update a recipient’s record review
• A person other than the beneficiary responds to the information request
• A person other than the beneficiary makes a request to reschedule an appointment
• An SSI recipient has a record of traveling outside the country, which could be reflected from prior benefit suspensions.
• There is a record of an SSI recipient receiving a direct deposit to a foreign bank even though they have an address in the U.S.

While there may be a valid reason for any of the above happening, the recipient may be required to provide proof, if they left the country, that their absence did not exceed the time period set for their situation. They may be asked to provide documents or testimonies from neighbors or others who can vouch for the recipient being present in the U.S.

The Social Security Administration has guidelines for following up on potential absences from the U.S.

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