Thursday, July 24, 2003

Medicaid and Ticket to Work: States’ Early Efforts to Cover Working Individuals with Disabilities
A report (in Adobe Acrobat format) available at the Open Minds web site - "As of December 2002, 12 states had implemented Medicaid Buy-In programs under the authority of the Ticket to Work legislation, which was effective October 1, 2000, enrolling over 24,000 working individuals with disabilities. These states used the flexibility allowed by the legislation to raise income eligibility and asset limits as well as cost-sharing fees. Across the 12 states, income eligibility levels ranged from 100 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) in Wyoming to no income limit in Minnesota, with 11 states setting income eligibility limits at twice the FPL or higher. In addition to increasing income and asset levels, these states required participants to buy in to the program by charging premiums, ranging from $26 to $82 a month, and copayments, generally ranging from $0.50 to $3 for office visits and prescription drugs."