Thursday, February 24, 2005

Explaining Enrollment Trends and Participant Characteristics of the Medicaid Buy-In Program, 2002-2003 A 206-page report (in Adobe Acrobat format), from Mathematica Policy Research, brought to our attention at the Open Minds web site - "Persons with disabilities who wish to enter or remain in the labor force face multiple challenges, including those originating from the nature of their disabilities, the limited availability of employer-based and individual private health coverage, and the risk that higher earnings could cause them to lose public assistance they might receive. As a result, the unemployment rate among people with disabilities has been high and has increased (Kaye 2002; Taylor 2001). The Medicaid Buy-In program was enacted to encourage work by reducing work disincentives. Specifically, it allows people with disabilities to earn more and still be eligible to obtain Medicaid coverage. Participants “buy in” to the program by paying a premium or co-payment and receive full Medicaid benefits in return. The Buy-In program is one major component of a broad federal and state effort to support the employment of people with disabilities that includes the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the President’s New Freedom Initiative."