Tucson Standard

WASHINGTON –Today, U.S. Representatives Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA-03) have unveiled new bipartisan legislation aimed at enhancing work opportunities and benefits for working adults with disabilities. The legislation, named the Ensuring Access to Medicaid Buy-In Program Act, seeks to remove the age limit for the Medicaid buy-in program, enabling adults with disabilities to sustain employment while retaining essential Medicaid coverage and benefits.

Under the current law, individuals with disabilities are permitted to exceed traditional income eligibility boundaries and retain crucial benefits, such as long-term care services not typically covered by private insurance, by paying premiums for their Medicaid coverage. However, once these individuals reach 65 years of age, they are disqualified from the program, leaving them with a two-year gap until they become eligible for Social Security benefits at age 67. This situation unfairly penalizes individuals who wish to remain employed.

"No one should have to choose between a paycheck and their benefits," emphasized Rep. Ciscomani. "By lifting the age limit for the Medicaid buy-in program, this legislation ensures that individuals with disabilities over the age of 65 can continue, if they choose, to work while maintaining vital Medicaid benefits they deserve. Ultimately, this allows individuals with disabilities to stay in the workforce and receive a paycheck, closing a gap in benefits that would have otherwise hurt them and take them out of the workforce."

Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez echoed these sentiments, stating, “For people with disabilities who rely on home-based and long-term care through Medicaid Buy-In, an age cap for the program at 65 can present them with the difficult choice of either limiting their income to receive much-needed care through Medicaid or losing coverage by continuing to work and remain independent. By introducing this bipartisan legislation to expand eligibility for Medicaid Buy-In beyond 65, we can help more folks across Southwest Washington stay in their communities and have the choice to keep working until their Social Security benefits kick in or longer."

The full text of the bill can be accessed through the provided link.