By skyforbes Hello o/
Today I received a Termination letter from NJ Family Care.
Back in 2023, I had a pretty lengthy and frustrating battle for my Medicaid for the same exact reason as now: Income exceeds standard due to In-Kind support which totals to $342.33 in unearned income. Apparently, you cannot be disabled and live with a family member without paying your fair share, even if the amount you receive is next to nothing.
I've been disabled since 2008, received SSDI since 2012, however it wasn't until after the pandemic that they started to apply this In-Kind support fee. The last time I received termination, I had to appeal for a fair hearing. I spoke with an attourney who then told me if I had a small job, that the Medicaid income bracket would open to me, and I wouldn't have any issues.
Because of my disability, my job options were limited, but my mother agreed to hire me as her caretaker since she has issues using her hands due to her Lupus. I didn't feel right about accepting too much money, so she only paid me $10 a week, and I reapplied for Medicaid with Caretaker as my title, and my Medicaid was reinstated. This was fine for 2023, 2024, and 2025… However, my mother wanted to up the amount she paid me to $20 weekly. So ofc, I updated my income, but now my income bracket is back to $1300, and I'm over the limit by 342.33 due to the In-Kind support again.
I'm really frustrated here and unsure of what to do next? If I don't get my Medicaid reinstated, they'll take nearly $200 from my SSDI for my Medicare premiums, and I'll have to stop attending therapy, which is super important for my mental wellbeing. Ofc, I need to go through with the appeal, so that I can still have coverage while I figure out what to do, but the attourney won't be able to help me, I don't think, since their advice was more of a last ditch effort than anything else, and it worked… until now? Was it a glitch or do they not count Caretaker for a parent as a credible job?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you!