Getting married/Medicaid SSI

anonymous

New member
Hi I have a question, might sound a little silly but here it goes. I'm a 20 year old female with cf. I have medicaid and SSI . Im engaged to get married in 6 months but someone told me that If i get married Im risking loosing my help. Is that true? Can I loose my disability just from getting married? Please help and respond. If you'd like you can email me at DianeisCool29@aol.com Thank you, Diane
 

jmazz

New member
Yes this is true. I was getting SSI before i married and then 7 months after i was married they took my SSI benifits becasue my husband made to much...If i remember correclty u're elegible up to $25,000 anything after that they cut u off. Atleast in PA.
 

anonymous

New member
Same thing happened to me . Sad thing was, my husband didnt make that much at that time( about 250. 00 a week) but i was cut. They did allow me to keep my health insurance though ( of coarse my husbands was much better )
 

anonymous

New member
yes they will cut you off if your husband works , you can contact your local office and they should be able to tell you ,yes this happened to me also.
 

MJS

New member
Ironic isnt it. President Bush wants to give incentives for people to get married to reestablish the "moral" level that we lost yet this is an example of where incentives should go. Unlike Medicare/SSD which is based on your work history, Medicaid/SSI is more income/asset based. Thus when you get married, I would imagine that it will bump you right out of the guidelines depending on where you live.
 

anonymous

New member
I know the state of IL is the same. If you get married, your husband is legally responsible for you. Thus, he will be responsible for your bills, insurance, etc. That might not be a big deal right now because at 20 years old you probably don't have that many assets but as you get older and your assets grow...... It is a huge decision, but why don't you just live together? That way you have your help, and then you can get your house, etc. I have lived with my boyfried for 18 years! The only thing we do not have is a piece of paper from the state saying that we are married. E-mail me if you have a question (rosienpete@yahoo.com) Good Luck!
 

anonymous

New member
Yes it happened to me too. I do have to add though that my parents even had friends tht a spouse got cancer and they had to divorce to get any kind of help...This was before bush was in office.....the system has been this screwed up for a very very long time. oh and i dont mean to start a political debate just stating what happened to a couple my parents know as well.
 

HollyCatheryn

New member
SSD is not based on how much income you have. It is meritted by diagnosis of disablity and years you worked and put money in the system. As an example, my husband just got a raise and it put us over the limit causing me to lose SSI and Medicaid, but I still keep my full SSD benefit and Medicare with no change.There are a couple of loop-holes. If you work and need Medicaid to work, you might be able to keep your Medicaid even without SSI (there is a higher earning threshold for this). I'll try to get on the SSA website and find that page for you. There is also the option of something like Texas's Children with Special Health Care Needs in your state. Our CSHCN covers people with CF regardless of age, but there's usually a waiting list. I am applying to get High Risk Coverage through Texas's Health Insurance Risk Pool. I chose the highest deductible which makes my premiums the lowest. Medicare takes care of the hospital and Dr visit stuff anyway, all I really need is the Rx coverage. It is not required that your deductible be met before Rx coverage begins. So, that's what I'm counting on. There is also the Medicare Rx card that you can apply for. It takes some time. Also, ask your social worker about Rx Assistance Programs. There is a whole list of drug companies who provide free or reduced medications to people without insurance, limited insurance or financial need. Just ask. I got assistance with TOBI, Pulmozyme, and Ultrase. Some of them are long term programs, others are 90 day supplies, but in any case it is something. If you have legal questions ask about getting Beth Sufian's CF hotline number. She is a lawyer in Houston, TX who has CF and specializes in helping us (all over the country) with our legal hurdles. She was a great resource for me when all this stuff came up. You can email her at <A href="mailto:bethsufian@aol.com">bethsufian@aol.com</A>
 

HollyCatheryn

New member
You can look up how much you are allowed to make based on family size. There is also the option of taking a cut in pay. If you only make $100-200 over the limit and your Rx and insurance are in the $3,000-5,000, it might be worth it to get the coverage back. We have considered this.
 

HollyCatheryn

New member
Here is that SSA link that addresses keeping your Medicaid without SSI:   socialsecurity.gov/work/ResourcesToolkit/Health/1619b.htmlBeth Sufian's hotline # is: 1-800-622-0385Perhaps this will be helpful to you.
 
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