In This Issue

Medicaid Buy-In
Arrives in New York

It was a long time coming, but it's finally here. On July 1, New York State finally opened its Medicaid Buy-In Program, a program with the awesome potential to enable 20,000 New Yorkers with disabilities to become full-fledged tax payers.

Talk about Independent Living! Now here is a program with goals that are consistent with our mission. Studies have shown that the unemployment rate among people with disabilities is nearly 70%, compared to roughly 5% for the general population. For people with psychiatric disabilities, the statistics are bleaker still, with nearly 85% unemployed. Why? Well mostly because in the past, a person with a disability needed to choose between the job on one hand and the Medicaid coverage to pay for life-sustaining medications or a personal attendant on the other hand. Survival vs independence. Some choice. With the arrival of Medicaid Buy-In, New Yorkers with disabilities no longer need to make that choice.

Here are the eligibility requirements for Medicaid Buy-In, often referred to by case workers at the Department of Social Services as "Medicaid for the Working Disabled". First, you must have a disability as defined by the Social Security Administration. You must be between the ages of 16 and 64 and have a job with a gross income that may be as high as $46,170 for an individual or $61,870 for a couple. Finally, your countable resources may not exceed $10,000. If you are currently receiving Medicaid coverage with a monthly spend down, you have an option to participate in the Buy-In Program. After the first year, Buy-In enrollees who earn between 150-250% of the federal poverty level will be required to pay a premium for participation. The premium will be calculated as a percentage of earned and unearned income.

WILC has received a grant from New York State to educate agencies in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, and southern Orange County about the program. Applications for Medicaid Buy-In are available at Westchester County's Department of Social Services, 112 East Post Road, White Plains, NY 10601, 914-995-5000, or at Putnam County's Department of Social Services, 110 Old Route 6 Center, Carmel, NY 10512, 845-225-7040. If you need more information, consider calling the Statewide Technical Assistance line toll free at 1-888-224-3274 or TDD 716-847-1322, or go online to www.ssa.gov/work/ServiceProviders/ BPAODirectory.html

WILC's Benefits experts are also available to help. Call 914-682-3926 and ask to speak with Anna Fay, ext. 111 or Lillian Cardenas, ext. 119. Then, get to work!