California state supplement pays the one-blind couple rate when the blind person's spouse does not qualify #10547

Summary

ca_state_supplement_blind_amount pays the one-blind couple rate to a married blind recipient whose spouse does not qualify for SSI/SSP. WIC 12200(b) sets that rate only for a married couple "both qualifying for benefits under this chapter, and one of whom is blind". A blind person whose spouse is not aged, blind or disabled, or who otherwise fails SSI/SSP eligibility, is an individual under 12200(a) (and, if also aged or disabled, under 12200(c) and (e)). California pays the highest category the person qualifies for (POMS SI 01415.058 B.2.a note).

Where

policyengine_us/variables/gov/states/ca/cdss/state_supplement/payment_standard/ca_state_supplement_blind_amount.py:20-29. blind_count counts only eligible blind heads and spouses, but the married rate is chosen from spm_unit_is_married, which is true whenever the unit has a tax-unit spouse, eligible or not. So blind_count == 1 with any spouse selects p.blind.married.one_blind.

Examples (January 2026)

With #10546 the standard is $875.63 (first row) and $920.12 (second row) a month too high; on main the first row is $1,004.50 too high. Under SSI the spouse's income may be deemed (20 CFR 416.1163), but that changes countable income, not the standard.

How CAPI handles it

PR #10379's helper _ca_capi_ssi_ssp_standard.py selects the couple rates only inside an SSI couple computation (ca_capi_couple_computation). Outside one, the person gets the individual standard, the higher of the blind amount and the aged or disabled amount with the no-cooking allowance. The couple standard is used only within the spouse-to-spouse deeming computation (POMS SI 01320.430 C.7). So CAPI gives the first household $1,362.81, and the two programs disagree although WIC 18941 makes CAPI equal SSI/SSP.

Suggested fix

Use the couple blind rates only when both spouses are ca_state_supplement_eligible_person (two eligible heads or spouses in the unit, as ca_state_supplement_aged_disabled_count already requires for the couple aged or disabled amount), and the single blind rate otherwise. Add YAML cases for both examples above in ca_state_supplement_blind_amount.yaml.

Related

• Stop the California state supplement from adding the no-cooking allowance to the blind rates #10546: the no-cooking allowance no longer stacks on the blind rates; it compares against this blind amount, so it inherits this error.
• Pay California CAPI from the SSI/SSP standard per person, with spouse-to-spouse deeming #10379: CAPI's standard selection.
• Refactor the California state supplement: state-share parameters and person-level amounts #7892: the state supplement's structure (alternative standards added together).