A friend receives Medicaid in Michigan and needs to replace an old car that is unsafe to drive and whose current value is probably under $100. He thinks a windfall might be coming his way that will cover the cost of a used car. But he's worried that the moment he declares additional income from the windfall, the state will either take the money or discontinue his benefits. I've been all through the state's Medicaid policy manuals and found ample evidence that Medicaid recipients are able to own cars, but not a word about how to replace cars with money that recipients are not allowed to have. Can anyone shed any light on this topic?
I saw on the medicaid website in her state of N.Y. that recipients are allied to own a car if its for work purposes.
Also saw that a 'trust' can be established (by the recipient of medicaid) in the case of winning lottery or something like that. The rule demands though, that the medicaid recipient must be cognitive enough to follow through with the lawyer on his own. So mentally handicapped folks could not acquire this type of trust. Anyway, hope this helps you out. Try going directly to your state's medicaid website: Q&A section.
Thats where I read all this. Good luck.
Dan is very reluctant to contact his caseworker because according to him they rarely respond and have caused his benefits to be cut more than once in the past.
I question whether spending the money immediately will solve the problem, because at the annual renewal, he will still need to report both the income and the car purchase, and there's no reason to believe the state would not take measures at that point.
Does anyone have a reference to any state law or policy that would cover this question?
Best thing to do is to call his support worker.
The way I always heard it was that any money coming from anywhere if you are on medicaid can cause medicaid to be withdrawn from the recipient. Clearly I am wrong.
And does this vary in every State?