Important Changes to the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy

Individuals who enroll in the Medicare prescription drug program (Medicare Part D) may get assistance in paying the premiums for this coverage by applying for the Part D low-income subsidy. SSA also refers to this program as “Extra Help”.

Beginning January 1, 2010, changes in the law make it easier for some people to qualify for Extra Help with their Medicare prescription drug plan costs. Under the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act:

· SSA will no longer count as a resource any life insurance policy; and

SSA will no longer count as income the help beneficiaries receive regularly from someone else to pay their household expenses—food, mortgage, rent, heating fuel or gas, electricity, water, and property taxes.

In addition, beginning January 1, 2010, when beneficiaries apply for Extra Help, they also can start the application process for the Medicare Savings Programs. These are the state programs that provide help with Medicare Part B premiums and other Medicare costs – what we often refer to as QMB or SLMB. Social Security will now notify the State when beneficiaries apply for Extra Help and the State will contact beneficiaries to help them apply for a Medicare Savings Program.

For a complete explanation of the changes to Medicare Part D low-income subsidy, go to
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10040.html

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

Compassionate Allowance List Grows by 38

Compassionate Allowances are a way of quickly identifying diseases and other medical conditions that clearly qualify for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability benefits. It allows the agency to electronically target and make speedy decisions for the most obviously disabled individuals.

This is the first expansion since the original list of 50 conditions - 25 rare diseases and 25 cancers - was announced in October 2008. The new conditions range from adult brain disorders to rare diseases that primarily affect children.

New Compassionate Allowance Conditions

1. Alstrom Syndrome
2. Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia
3. Ataxia Spinocerebellar
4. Ataxia Telangiectasia
5. Batten Disease
6. Bilateral Retinoblastoma
7. Cri du Chat Syndrome
8. Degos Disease
9. Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
10. Edwards Syndrome
11. Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
12. Fukuyama Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
13. Glutaric Acidemia Type II
14. Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), Familial Type
15. Hurler Syndrome, Type IH
16. Hunter Syndrome, Type II
17. Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
18. Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa, Lethal Type
19. Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses
20. Leigh’s Disease
21. Maple Syrup Urine Disease
22. Merosin Deficient Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
23. Mixed Dementia
24. Mucosal Malignant Melanoma
25. Neonatal Adrenoleukodystrophy
26. Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses, Infantile Type
27. Niemann-Pick Type C
28. Patau Syndrome
29. Primary Progressive Aphasia
30. Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy
31. Sanfilippo Syndrome
32. Subacute Sclerosis Panencephalitis
33. Tay Sachs Disease
34. Thanatophoric Dysplasia, Type 1
35. Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
36. Walker Warburg Syndrome
37. Wolman Disease
38. Zellweger Syndrome

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

How Earnings Affect Your SSI Payments

The amount of your SSI payments is based on how much other income you have. When your other income goes up, your SSI payments usually go down. So when you earn more than the SSI limit, your payments will stop for those months. But, your payments will automatically start again for any month your income drops to less than the SSI limits. Just tell Social Security if your earnings are reduced, or if you stop working.

If your only income besides SSI is the money you make from your job, then Social Security does not count the first $85 of your monthly earnings. Social Security deducts from your SSI payments 50 cents of every dollar you earn after the $85 deduction. (The $85 deduction is made up of a $20 per month general income exclusion, which is first applied to any unearned income, and a $65 per month earned income exclusion).

Example: You work and earn $1,000 in a month. You receive no other income besides your earnings and your SSI.

$1,000 - $85 = $915

$915 ÷ 2 = $457.50

Social Security would deduct $457.50 from the maximum SSI ­payment that you may receive as an individual, which is $674 in 2010. You would therefore receive an SSI payment of $216.50 for the relevant month.

By working, you would have gross income of $1,216.50 ($1,000 of gross earnings plus SSI of $216.50). If you do not work, you would just have an SSI payment of $674.

This information was taken from the SSA Publication, “Working While Disabled—How We Can Help.” The earnings rules are different for SSDI benefits.

NOTE: It is important to keep in mind that certain "Work Incentives" may be available to help lower one's countable earnings that are used for the above SSI calculation. This results in an increase cash payment to the beneficiary. To explore all available "Work Incentives" that may be available, please contact your area CWIC.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

SSA - "Working While Disabled—How We Can Help"

The 2010 edition of the publication, “Working While Disabled—How We Can Help,” is now available on Social Security’s website.

See http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10095.html.

This publication provides an “at a glance” overview of work incentives and an easy-to-understand description of how earnings affect Social Security disability benefits and SSI payments.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com