In the past, one of the major obstacles to employment for a person with a disability is the fear of losing health insurance. Medicaid is public health insurance for low-income individuals and people with disabilities. Eligibility is determined by meeting certain guidelines, including a person's income and assets. For workers with disabilities that either do not qualify or cannot afford private health insurance, Medicaid is a viable option.

Section 1619(b) of the Social Security Act continues Medicaid eligibility for working individuals whose earned income is too high to qualify for SSI cash payments, but not high enough to offset the loss of Medicaid. Section 1619(b) is not new, it was added to the Social Security Act in 1987. Even if a worker with a disability has private insurance they may be able to use 1619(b) to retain Medicaid as well.

If an individual has earnings that reduce a monthly SSI benefit to zero, he/she may be eligible to continue Medicaid at no cost if the following requirements are met:

• Received SSI in the past twelve months
• Continues to meet medical disability requirement
• Continues to meet non-disability requirements
• Needs Medicaid to continue to work; and
• Has income that is below the threshold amount^*

For more about Section 1619 (b) go to http://www.vcu-barc.org/1619(b).html
Or http://www.ssa.gov/work/ResourcesToolkit/Health/1619b.html

* Each state's threshold amount is determined by Social Security to measure whether or not a person's earnings are high enough to replace SSI and Medicaid benefits. This threshold is based on the average Medicaid expense in that state and the amount of earnings that would cause SSI cash payments to stop for that individual in his/her state.