Florida Social Security Disability Attorney David W. Magann Comments on Social Security Disability Income,Medicaid Eligibility

Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) February 15, 2018 – In order to be eligible for Medicaid, monthly gross income, from all sources, is required to be $2,205 or less. However, some individuals may be concerned that they will not qualify for Medicaid if they receive Social Security Disability (SSDI) benefits in the maximum monthly amount of $2,687.

Consider the case of Amanda, who worked for 35 years prior to retiring at age 56. Because of early onset Alzheimer’s, she became incompetent at age 61, and was placed in a nursing home. After she retired, she was without any income, and depleted her savings. Her guardian submitted an application for Medicaid to cover the expenses of the long-term care.

Florida social security disability attorney David W. Magann says, “Some states, including Florida, have spend-down programs that allow individuals to spend down their assets in order to qualify for Medicaid.”

Because Amanda’s SSDI benefits are $2,687 per month, she will have to set up a Qualified Income Trust, also referred to as a Miller Trust, in order to receive Medicaid. Her entire disability check will be placed into the Miller Trust. Those funds can be applied toward the payment of Medicare premiums and medical bills that Medicare does not cover. Amanda will be able to have a small amount to pay the cost of incidentals, and the remainder will pay for the cost of nursing home care. In this way, she will be eligible for Medicaid, which will pay for the balance of the cost of the long-term care.

Usually, the process of obtaining SSDI benefits can take several months to a year, or longer. An applicant who succeeds in obtaining such benefits will be entitled to receive them up to one year before they submit an application. After the onset of disability, there is a period of five months during which the applicant is not entitled to receive benefits.

For example, if Amanda proves that her disability began two years before submission of her application for SSDI benefits, the maximum amount to which she would be entitled is $32,244, or ($2,687×12), although she was disabled for 24 months before she applied for benefits. If Amanda shows that she became disabled nine months before she applied for benefits, she will qualify for SSDI back payments prior to her application in the amount of $10,748, or (4×$2,687).

In either situation, the entire amount of her past due benefits will also depend on the number of months she waits to receive a favorable decision. Amanda’s past due benefits will be in excess of $2,205, the maximum monthly amount of income a person can have in order to qualify for Medicaid. Thus, her guardian can set up a special needs trust (SNT) into which Amanda can deposit all of her SSDI benefits that exceed $2,205. In so doing, she will be eligible for Medicaid.

Learn more at http://www.floridasocialsecurity.com/

David W. Magann, P.A.
Main Office:
156 W. Robertson St.
Brandon, FL 33511
Call: (813) 657-9175

Tampa Office:
4012 Gunn Highway #165
Tampa, Florida 33618

View Larger Map

• Be Aware of How You Could Lose Your Social Security Benefits
  1.Cessation of Disability: Usually a “cessation of benefits” occurs when you are not seeking regular and continuing treatment for the medical problems in the original determination for the grant of benefits. Also, if you are able to make enough money to pass above a certain threshold earnings amount, then you’ll stop getting disability benefits. For […]
• NEW IMPAIRMENT LISTING IN FULL EFFECT & APPLICABLE TO ALL ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS IMMEDIATELY
  NEW MENTAL LISTINGS Effective: January 17, 2017 After a revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), and thousands of public comments later, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has published significant revisions to its mental impairment listings.  SSA had issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in August 2010, proposing what at the time appeared to be […]
• SSA is Heading For Delays Again After Recent Cutbacks & Years of Improvement
  Service Cuts, Computer Problems Cloud Social Security’s 79th Birthday: The Social Security Administration should have reason to celebrate. After all, August 14, 2014, marked the 79th anniversary of the day when President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, which ushered in the landmark entitlement program. However, the agency’s birthday was a less than cheerful […]
• SSA is Ramping Up Disability Reviews in 2014
  The Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984 (“DBRA 1984”) was passed by a unanimous, bipartisan vote in the House and Senate (99-0) in September 1984. President Reagan signed the law on October 9, 1984, when it became Pub. L. No. 98-460. One of the main provisions required “medical improvement” before benefits could be terminated where […]
• Never Allow A Non-Attorney to Represent You At Your Social Security Hearing!
  You should NOT have a non-attorney clerk at your hearing?  This seems obvious, but several Florida law firms and any company identifying themselves as “Experts”, some who are advertising on TV, are sending non-attorney clerks to Social Security Hearings simply because its cheaper for them to do so rather than have an actual attorney appear. How in […]