I Want to Work

Having a disability does not stop me from wanting to work.  However, I require caregivers to come in and aid me with most every task of getting ready in the morning.  These cares are costly, with private pay costs of around $25/hr (as quoted by one agency).  Since I personally require 4 to 5 hours of visits daily, with additional hours for basic housekeeping and laundry, it becomes unfeasible to pay for this level of healthcare out of pocket.  Medicaid would generally pay for the cost of these cares, but there are, however, restrictions on what an individual can earn while in the program.

Generally, one might consider insurance for covering these costs, but private health insurance will only cover “medical related home health care” such as nurse visits, bandage changes, etc.  The option most would consider, for post retirement healthcare, would be to pay into a Long-Term Health Care plan, but these plans are set up with lifetime limitations on how much can be spent on an individual member, and are generally not designed for someone with a disability.

This leaves Medicaid as the only viable option, for those living independently.  The problem is that Medicaid is generally designed to aid those with little or no income.  An individual on Social Security can qualify for Medicaid, but they must maintain assets less than $2000 to remain in the program, and stay within relatively low income (levels determined by State).  Even programs such as the Medicaid Purchase Plan (see more details on my page covering this program), have earning restrictions (250% of the Federal Poverty Level for Wisconsin residents).  Per these restrictions, many individuals with disabilities opt to work only part-time, if at all.  The reality of the matter is that I could relatively easily stay at home, get a monthly Social Security check, all while receiving all of the Medicaid based home healthcare I need in a given day, if I simply opted not to work.  No questions asked.

However, I, as well as many other individuals with disabilities, want to be an active part of the workforce.  This leaves me and many others in a precarious situation of balancing our working lives, with the restrictions of the Medicaid programs.