Approximately 8 million Americans with disabilities are of working age and receive more than $50 billion a year in Social Security Disability (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Currently, less than 1% of these recipients are working, although some 72% want to work, according to a recent Harris Poll.
Congress found that if only an additional 1/2 of 1% of SSDI/SSI recipients were to gain employment and no longer relied on Social Security benefits, the Social Security Trust Fund and U.S. Treasury would save $3.5 billion in benefit payments over the work life of beneficiaries.
Prior to passage of this legislation, eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid was linked to eligibility for SSDI and SSI payments. The Catch-22 has been that if beneficiaries obtain work, they run the risk of losing eligibility for these Social Security benefits and, in turn, their medical coverage. Most beneficiaries are unaware of existing work incentive options that allow them to work and keep health coverage, while many other Americans with significant disabilities become victims of an archaic set of rules that literally forces them to choose between working and keeping health benefits.
The Act squarely addresses the threat of losing health benefits by extending Medicare coverage, and establishes a state option to offer a Medicaid buy-in program for workers with disabilities. The Act creates a new Medicaid buy-in demonstration program to help people whose disability is not yet so severe that they cannot work.
The Medicaid buy-in option will be a particularly powerful incentive for beneficiaries who currently require services that may not be covered by most employer’s health benefit plans. This option is also intended to address employer fears that their health insurance costs will increase if they hire people with disabilities.