POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Insurance, Benefits Programs & HIV => Topic started by: oksikoko on July 29, 2013, 01:19:24 pm
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This is probably not as funny to anyone else as it is to me.
So, my HASA (HIV/AIDS Services Administration) case was apparently closed (or maybe not) because the congregate facility in which I live was deemed not congregate enough, as if that has anything to do with whether or not any individual needs HASA services. This is actually a good thing, because it means I can call the Medicaid folks with no interference by people wanting to call on my behalf. HASA had me in a holding pattern until this sorted itself, and I just got a message saying, "yes, go ahead and call them yourself". This is now 2 days before Medicaid will likely end, God bless us all. No one is able to tell me when it will end exactly or why it's even active, since I got a cancellation letter a while back. The suspicion from the nice lady in Albany is that I am grinding out the 6-month grace period, which ends at the end of this month. I can't reinstate ADAP until Medicaid is kaput, so I'm just waiting. ::)
In paperwork irritation news, I became eligible for Medicaid again one week after they cut me. My income was $100+ over the Medicaid standard. It has since gone down, so I just need the whole thing re-booted, which means lots of paperwork. Being on welfare is a full-time job, I tell you. ;D
The funny thing is, if I didn't have a rent subsidy, my income wouldn't even pay rent, and still I'm barely eligible for Medicaid. If I didn't have ADAP as a backup (the only thing I lose is emergency treatments), I'd be left out in the cold, so once again HIV saves the day. What on Earth do unemployed homeless HIV- people do? It's a perverse system.
In what I consider an even funnier side note, I also currently get $16 a month in SNAP (food stamps), though I haven't decided where to spend it all. Possibly on Walgreens tiramisu, haha (that's a joke). I kind of want to buy food and hand it out to those kids with the "HIV+ and homeless" signs. I have plenty. But that's illegal, and I would never do anything illegal.
I also want to ask those kids why they don't go to HASA and try to get emergency housing, but I'm afraid of the answer. I'm a lightweight, and even I chose to stay outside all night sometimes instead of in the SRO last March. These kids are pros.
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unfortunately the system is full of "political" decisions that dont always correlate directly to reality but rather to what some Clerk/ politician/ decision maker thinks the "right thing to do" or their budget will allow
combine that to the fact that many of the programs are frequently delegated to the lowest category ( inexperienced) of personnel in that agency you seem to have navigated it better than many others
Nick
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Was it mandatory for you to apply for SNAP? I had to do it in GA to get myself in the system and I get $24 per month. I haven't used it in 2 months so I have $48 right now. That's like a week worth of food! Or a weekend worth of pie!
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Sounds like a major bureaucratic headache.
Sorry you have to go through this. :(
It would be nice if some day everyone just had access to the same all inclusive healthcare. Would be much more simple, and far cheaper overall to implement.
You seem to be navigating it reasonably well though.
I hope it gets sorted out for you soon.
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I didn't think you were working. How are you over the limit? I know a guy, who gets $895 in disability and gets $110 a month in SNAP. He qualifies for the "Extra Help" and gets all his Medicare premiums, deductibles, and co-payments paid, and qualifies for Medicaid to pick up the 20% that Medicare Part B doesn't pay.
I am always confused how these programs work. I know a single woman, who is getting something like $1,400 a month in unemployment. She has two kids, with no child support. They told her she no longer qualifies for SNAP. I don't understand how someone making $1,400 a month with two kids doesn't qualify. $1,400 a month doesn't go far with a family, even here. I just don't understand how he gets $110 in SNAP with an income of $895 with no kids, but she is over the limit. So, I always remain confused about how they make these decisions.
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you seem to have navigated it better than many others
You seem to be navigating it reasonably well though.
Thanks, I'm a real sailor now. It's actually more humorous than annoying. If something goes wrong with my medication, that'll be another story... I've discovered it's easy enough to find emergency pills of Atripla, but Stribild is another matter. And I wonder what sudden anti-psychotic discontinuation syndrome feels like. ;)
Was it mandatory for you to apply for SNAP? I had to do it in GA to get myself in the system and I get $24 per month. I haven't used it in 2 months so I have $48 right now. That's like a week worth of food! Or a weekend worth of pie!
I never applied for SNAP myself. HASA did it automatically, so it probably was mandatory for some reason. I also haven't spent my $16 from July. So, now I can have a vegetable party in August. I actually feel bad getting it. There have been cuts, and some people with families don't get enough. I will probably just leave it. It returns to the pool after so many months, and frankly, I'm stuffed as is.
I didn't think you were working. How are you over the limit?
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I don't understand how someone making $1,400 a month with two kids doesn't qualify. ... I just don't understand how he gets $110 in SNAP with an income of $895 with no kids, but she is over the limit. So, I always remain confused about how they make these decisions.
I got no food stamps when I was homeless and could've used them. They only kicked in once I was housed and needed them less. But I paid to live in the shelter (the first one) as much as my rent is now, so it's not like I had more cash then. It's a very confusing system.
I'm in the waning days of unemployment insurance, and that's been my income. It puts me over the limit for a lot of services, but I have more cash on hand than most people in my position. "More" is relative, but I can't in good conscience complain anymore. I've been pretty lucky. ;) Of course, UI shall run out very, very soon. Que será será, toujours gai.
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OK, this is too funny. I'm calling the Medicaid number. It gives me another number, then disconnects. I call that number and hear BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP.
I think I'll just go to Brooklyn in person. ;)
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SNAP Income guidelines
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/applicant_recipients/eligibility.htm
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OK, this is too funny. I'm calling the Medicaid number. It gives me another number, then disconnects. I call that number and hear BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP.
I think I'll just go to Brooklyn in person. ;)
You ARE a patient guy. That kinda stuff drives me nuts. (more nuts) :)
Any word about your job interview yet?
PS- Cute avatar. Boing! Boing!
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Eh, it won't do any good to be mad at a phone tree, so you just call again or go to Brooklyn. I didn't realize how many government offices are in Brooklyn...
No word on that interview, but I have several things in the oven. I'll be in a vocational assessment for the next two weeks (M-F, 9-3, yikes), and I might be able to go enter a vocational program for pozzies after that.
Yes, I want this dog. He's little. I could probably sneak him in my backpack.
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SNAP Income guidelines
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/applicant_recipients/eligibility.htm
I used to work in Medicaid/SNAP...
Just a note... monthly income is computed at 4.3 weeks per month (that is because there are two months every year that have 5 weeks - the rest have four).... So, here in Florida, if a single person makes $275 week unemployment x 4.3 weeks = $1,182.50.... when President Obama gave the extra $25 a week on unemployment for a while a few years ago (back in 2008 or 2009 I think) it caused a lot of single people in Florida to be over the limit...
Also, rent costs do not get deducted if you are over the threshold to begin with.. they only get deducted if you are initially under the threshold - unless you are on disability - then rent costs get deducted on the front end prior of the income even if over the threshold... So a single individual on SSI (and in some cases SSDI - depending on how much the person receives and how much their rent is) is more likely to be eligible for SNAP....
Also, if you have other people living in the household, they are supposed to be included on your application - but their income won't count against you as long as you say that you purchase and prepare food SEPARATELY - if you say you purchase and prepare together than their income gets weighed into the eligibility factor....
Also, if you have a joint bank account with someone, any funds in that account (even if it belongs to other person) are counted toward the asset limit...
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Just to close the topic:
I went to my fair hearing on Monday. Because of my "technicality", which I assume means HIV, I can have Medicaid until the end of the year.
It felt sort of like a game show. "If you give up your right to see the judge, we'll give you what's behind door #2". Haha. But the joke's on them. I plan on being as sick as possible for the next 4 months.
Lee