What You Need to Know About Florida Medicaid Working People With Disabilities
In 2019, legislation was passed allowing individuals who receive home and community-based Medicaid waiver services to have increased income and asset limits while still maintaining their Medicaid eligibility. This legislation went into effect on January 1, 2020 and affects all APD clients 21 and older who earn income through paid employment.
Here is what you should know about this legislation and how it may affect you, your loved ones, or your clients:
The Working People with Disabilities legislation increases the Medicaid monthly limit income from 300% of the Federal Benefit Rate (FBR) to 550% of the FBR for individuals who earn income through paid employment. Before this increase, the monthly income limit was $2,349 for an individual or $4,698 for a couple. The 2019 legislation allows for a monthly limit of $4,306 for an individual or $8,612 for a couple.
This update also increased the asset limit from $2,000 for an individual to $13,000 and from $3,000 for a couple to $24,000. Additionally, the legislation allows participants to have a retirement account recognized by the Internal Revenue Service.
There is no special application for coverage under Working People with Disabilities. However, individuals in the waiver program who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) should report changes and/or increased earnings to the Social Security Administration (SSA) using the standard reporting process. For more information, call the SSA at (800) 772-1213 or visit www.ssa.gov.
Individuals enrolled in the waiver program who do not receive SSI should report employment changes and/or increased earnings to DCF through the standard reporting process. For more information, call DCF at (850)300-4323 or visit https://www.myflorida.com/accessflorida/.
These increased income and asset limits do not apply to SSI, and, therefore, increased earnings may still cause individuals to be disqualified for SSI. However, disqualification for SSI does not automatically disqualify you for Medicaid and/or Medicaid waiver services. If you lose SSI based on increased earnings, DCF will receive and review this information, which is received from the SSA, to determine if the individual’s Medicaid can continue. As long as the individual’s monthly income is under 550% of the FBR and cash assets are under $13,000 for a single individual or $24,000 for a couple, they will be able to retain their Medicaid waiver services.
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