State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)
Free, unbiased Medicare counseling in Kentucky. Trained counselors go through your costs and choices with you, and they don't sell plans.
Income and Social Security
Kentucky SSI supplement
Kentucky's State Supplementation program helps adults on low income pay for care: living in a personal care home or family care home, or paying a caretaker at home.
It fills the gap between your income and a set standard of need. It is not paid to older people just because they live on their own.
How to apply in Kentucky
- Who runs it
- Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department for Community Based Services (local county office)
Who may qualify in Kentucky
| Who it is for | Adults who need a full-time living arrangement: living in a personal care home or family care home, getting caretaker services at home, or living at home with a serious mental illness |
|---|---|
| Income | Your income must be below the standard of need for your living arrangement |
What you may get
| Monthly supplement, one person living on their own (2026) | None unless you need a paid caretaker at home or have a serious mental illness |
|---|---|
| Standard of need, personal care home | $1,409 a month plus Social Security cost-of-living increases since 2021. The state pays the gap between this and your income. |
| Standard of need, family care home | $965 a month plus Social Security cost-of-living increases since 2021. The state pays the gap between this and your income. |
| Standard of need, one person with caretaker services at home | $855 a month plus Social Security cost-of-living increases since 2021. The state pays the gap between this and your income. |
How Kentucky is different
Where Kentucky's rules differ from the federal rules for State SSI supplements.
- Paid separately by the state; apply with your local Department for Community Based Services office
Good to know
- In a personal care home you keep a $60 personal needs allowance; in a family care home you keep $40.
- Payments are made to the extent funds are available.
Free help
Free help with this in Kentucky
Department for Aging and Independent Living (DAIL)
Your local Area Agency on Aging can help with meals, rides, help at home, caregiver support and applying for benefits.
More help in Kentucky
State SSI supplement in another state
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Sources
- Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (Kentucky Legislative Research Commission), 921 KAR 2:015, Supplemental programs for persons who are aged, blind, or have a disability (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
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