SSI and Medicaid

babyluke · Sep 11, 2009

I am sure this has come up before, but I searched the old posts and could not find anything.
Our son currently gets SSI/disability and a medical card. We have managed to make the income criteria by the skin of our teeth and we do get a small check. I really don't worry about losing his check. It helps, but I could work a part time job and make three times what we get from SSI. My concern is, and the reason I have not wanted to go back to work, we need Luke's medical card. My husband has insurance, but it pays 80% of our medical costs. For us that is fine, but for Luke, 20% of thousands of dollars is still thousands of dollars coming out of our pocket. His medicine alone is so expensive! Anyway, I am worried now because we will be paying off our cars within the next year or so and then they will count as assets and I am thinking we may not qualify for SSI anymore. Is there a way you can qualify for just the medical card? It would still be secondary to my husband's insurance, but I just hate to lose that coverage. We have worked so hard to dig ourselves out of the medical debt we accrued before Luke was diagnosed and became eligible for SSI.
Sorry this is so long!
Angela, Mom to 7, including Luke, 2yrs. old w/cf

babyluke · Sep 11, 2009

I am sure this has come up before, but I searched the old posts and could not find anything.
Our son currently gets SSI/disability and a medical card. We have managed to make the income criteria by the skin of our teeth and we do get a small check. I really don't worry about losing his check. It helps, but I could work a part time job and make three times what we get from SSI. My concern is, and the reason I have not wanted to go back to work, we need Luke's medical card. My husband has insurance, but it pays 80% of our medical costs. For us that is fine, but for Luke, 20% of thousands of dollars is still thousands of dollars coming out of our pocket. His medicine alone is so expensive! Anyway, I am worried now because we will be paying off our cars within the next year or so and then they will count as assets and I am thinking we may not qualify for SSI anymore. Is there a way you can qualify for just the medical card? It would still be secondary to my husband's insurance, but I just hate to lose that coverage. We have worked so hard to dig ourselves out of the medical debt we accrued before Luke was diagnosed and became eligible for SSI.
Sorry this is so long!
Angela, Mom to 7, including Luke, 2yrs. old w/cf

babyluke · Sep 11, 2009

I am sure this has come up before, but I searched the old posts and could not find anything.
Our son currently gets SSI/disability and a medical card. We have managed to make the income criteria by the skin of our teeth and we do get a small check. I really don't worry about losing his check. It helps, but I could work a part time job and make three times what we get from SSI. My concern is, and the reason I have not wanted to go back to work, we need Luke's medical card. My husband has insurance, but it pays 80% of our medical costs. For us that is fine, but for Luke, 20% of thousands of dollars is still thousands of dollars coming out of our pocket. His medicine alone is so expensive! Anyway, I am worried now because we will be paying off our cars within the next year or so and then they will count as assets and I am thinking we may not qualify for SSI anymore. Is there a way you can qualify for just the medical card? It would still be secondary to my husband's insurance, but I just hate to lose that coverage. We have worked so hard to dig ourselves out of the medical debt we accrued before Luke was diagnosed and became eligible for SSI.
Sorry this is so long!
Angela, Mom to 7, including Luke, 2yrs. old w/cf

babyluke · Sep 11, 2009

I am sure this has come up before, but I searched the old posts and could not find anything.
Our son currently gets SSI/disability and a medical card. We have managed to make the income criteria by the skin of our teeth and we do get a small check. I really don't worry about losing his check. It helps, but I could work a part time job and make three times what we get from SSI. My concern is, and the reason I have not wanted to go back to work, we need Luke's medical card. My husband has insurance, but it pays 80% of our medical costs. For us that is fine, but for Luke, 20% of thousands of dollars is still thousands of dollars coming out of our pocket. His medicine alone is so expensive! Anyway, I am worried now because we will be paying off our cars within the next year or so and then they will count as assets and I am thinking we may not qualify for SSI anymore. Is there a way you can qualify for just the medical card? It would still be secondary to my husband's insurance, but I just hate to lose that coverage. We have worked so hard to dig ourselves out of the medical debt we accrued before Luke was diagnosed and became eligible for SSI.
Sorry this is so long!
Angela, Mom to 7, including Luke, 2yrs. old w/cf

babyluke · Sep 11, 2009

I am sure this has come up before, but I searched the old posts and could not find anything.
 Our son currently gets SSI/disability and a medical card. We have managed to make the income criteria by the skin of our teeth and we do get a small check. I really don't worry about losing his check. It helps, but I could work a part time job and make three times what we get from SSI. My concern is, and the reason I have not wanted to go back to work, we need Luke's medical card. My husband has insurance, but it pays 80% of our medical costs. For us that is fine, but for Luke, 20% of thousands of dollars is still thousands of dollars coming out of our pocket. His medicine alone is so expensive! Anyway, I am worried now because we will be paying off our cars within the next year or so and then they will count as assets and I am thinking we may not qualify for SSI anymore. Is there a way you can qualify for just the medical card? It would still be secondary to my husband's insurance, but I just hate to lose that coverage. We have worked so hard to dig ourselves out of the medical debt we accrued before Luke was diagnosed and became eligible for SSI.
 Sorry this is so long!
 Angela, Mom to 7, including Luke, 2yrs. old w/cf

camperscove · Sep 11, 2009

I think it depends on what state you live in. Although Medicaid is federally funded, it's up to each state to determine how to administer their funds, within certain guidelines. Ask your case manager or, even better, if you have a care coordinator, ask them about 'catastrophic' coverage or any type of coverage that makes your sons income the qualifier. In our state the program is called TEFRA and is a division of Medicaid. We use it as our secondary insurance and have never had to pay a bill unless it's for OTC's. However, he doesn't qualify for SSI while recieving TEFRA. I highly recommend contacting a care coordinator. It's their full time job to navigate the system and they are reimbursed for their services through Medicaid. They can help with respite care, travel expenses, medical supplies, etc
I hear you on the 20%. 20% of my Luke's med bills in a month is well over half of our monthly income!

camperscove · Sep 11, 2009

I think it depends on what state you live in. Although Medicaid is federally funded, it's up to each state to determine how to administer their funds, within certain guidelines. Ask your case manager or, even better, if you have a care coordinator, ask them about 'catastrophic' coverage or any type of coverage that makes your sons income the qualifier. In our state the program is called TEFRA and is a division of Medicaid. We use it as our secondary insurance and have never had to pay a bill unless it's for OTC's. However, he doesn't qualify for SSI while recieving TEFRA. I highly recommend contacting a care coordinator. It's their full time job to navigate the system and they are reimbursed for their services through Medicaid. They can help with respite care, travel expenses, medical supplies, etc
I hear you on the 20%. 20% of my Luke's med bills in a month is well over half of our monthly income!

camperscove · Sep 11, 2009

I think it depends on what state you live in. Although Medicaid is federally funded, it's up to each state to determine how to administer their funds, within certain guidelines. Ask your case manager or, even better, if you have a care coordinator, ask them about 'catastrophic' coverage or any type of coverage that makes your sons income the qualifier. In our state the program is called TEFRA and is a division of Medicaid. We use it as our secondary insurance and have never had to pay a bill unless it's for OTC's. However, he doesn't qualify for SSI while recieving TEFRA. I highly recommend contacting a care coordinator. It's their full time job to navigate the system and they are reimbursed for their services through Medicaid. They can help with respite care, travel expenses, medical supplies, etc
I hear you on the 20%. 20% of my Luke's med bills in a month is well over half of our monthly income!

camperscove · Sep 11, 2009

I think it depends on what state you live in. Although Medicaid is federally funded, it's up to each state to determine how to administer their funds, within certain guidelines. Ask your case manager or, even better, if you have a care coordinator, ask them about 'catastrophic' coverage or any type of coverage that makes your sons income the qualifier. In our state the program is called TEFRA and is a division of Medicaid. We use it as our secondary insurance and have never had to pay a bill unless it's for OTC's. However, he doesn't qualify for SSI while recieving TEFRA. I highly recommend contacting a care coordinator. It's their full time job to navigate the system and they are reimbursed for their services through Medicaid. They can help with respite care, travel expenses, medical supplies, etc
I hear you on the 20%. 20% of my Luke's med bills in a month is well over half of our monthly income!

camperscove · Sep 11, 2009

I think it depends on what state you live in. Although Medicaid is federally funded, it's up to each state to determine how to administer their funds, within certain guidelines. Ask your case manager or, even better, if you have a care coordinator, ask them about 'catastrophic' coverage or any type of coverage that makes your sons income the qualifier. In our state the program is called TEFRA and is a division of Medicaid. We use it as our secondary insurance and have never had to pay a bill unless it's for OTC's. However, he doesn't qualify for SSI while recieving TEFRA. I highly recommend contacting a care coordinator. It's their full time job to navigate the system and they are reimbursed for their services through Medicaid. They can help with respite care, travel expenses, medical supplies, etc
 I hear you on the 20%. 20% of my Luke's med bills in a month is well over half of our monthly income!

julie · Sep 11, 2009