just for general information, SSI and Medicaid are both state funded, and if you get SSI you automatically get Medicaid. if you get Partial SSDI and Partial SSI you get both Medicare and Medicaid, which is the best insurance for poor people, because Medicaid pays the Co-Pay on Medicare.

i have been in both systems for 22 yrs, and have worked advising people who are applying and assisted them to apply. but the best place to get the Exact Info is the SSA site, IF you can make sense of what you Might find there~

as for the years vs contributions, SSA counts the best 20 "Quarters (= 3 months)" of the last 10 consecutive years. that should equal 5 yrs. i don't know why you didn't qualify on the basis of your quarterly earnings, Grey. that is something you might ask them to show you in writing... if you disagree there is grounds for an appeal. remember you only have 30 days from the date of the letter to appeal.

of course, i am not an SSA Adviser, and whatever i say could be mistaken, but this is what i believe to be the case.