(Oneida, NY – May 2013) For disabled adults receiving Social Security income, Nancy Klossner of the Resource Center for Independent Living and Brian Barnard, a disability rights advocate, will explain at Oneida Public Library Wednesday June 5 at 11 a.m. how a “pooled” trust can legally “spend down” their income on necessities so they can qualify for Medicaid.
Disabled people who depend on Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) or Social Security Income (SSI) for their livelihood typically receive monthly payments that are insufficient for the purchase of healthcare insurance but in excess of the maximum income for qualifying for Medicaid. For example, a person receiving $1,500 a month in SSDI to cover living expenses would be some $700 over the maximum monthly income for Medicaid eligibility in New York State. As a consequence, many disabled people are forced to live without any healthcare coverage.
Klossner will present the Community Supplemental Needs “Pooled” Trust as a legal method to “spend down” Social Security income so a disabled person qualifies for Medicaid even as the Trust uses the “excess” income to pay the person’s bills.
According to Klossner, a “pooled” trust can pay for “anything that enhances the person’s quality of life without impacting Medicaid or public benefits,” such as rent, utilities, clothing, food, or even a vacation.
Many trusts for the disabled operate in New York State, but in her presentation Klossner will focus on one with reasonable fees that operates out of Utica and Rome.
The presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, stop by the Oneida Library, 220 Broad St., or call 363-3050.