I Have Cancer and I’m on Medicaid – Should I Apply for Social Security Disability?

If you’re unable to work due to a serious illness, you may think that Social Security Disability will be the answer to all your troubles. However, it can often be less simple than that. Here’s how a cancer diagnosis complicated one reader’s Medicaid and Social Security benefits.

Should You Apply For Social Security Disability When on Medicaid?

To qualify for Medicaid, one must meet certain income requirements and if you make $1 too much – and I repeat $1 too much – then you can lose your Medicaid benefits.

You are just beginning your radiation treatments at MD Anderson and do not have to pay for anything because you have been blessed by qualifying for Medicaid. You could risk your Medicaid eligibility by applying for Social Security Disability.

The $1,535 Social Security Disability check will be too much income to keep you qualified for your Medicaid benefits and you could lose your precious Medicaid benefits.

Once you lose those benefits you will have to pay 100% for your cancer treatment because Medicaid will not be paying MD Anderson, any healthcare provider, or facility. Now, your troubles will really begin!

When someone qualifies for Social Security Disability, it will take 24 months for you to begin qualifying for Medicare and Medicare will begin on the 25^th month.

My advice is to wait and apply for Social Security Disability until after you have finished all your treatments and are released with a clean bill of health. I would not want you to put the mental and financial burden on yourself and your family because you are worried about how to get your cancer treatment and most of all how to pay for the treatments.

If you are not receiving any more cancer treatments when you are 62, then go and apply for early Social Security benefits, not Social Security Disability. At 62, one receives 75% of their Social Security amount. You will not receive 100% of your Social Security benefit until you reach your full retirement age (FRA).

At 65, apply for Original Medicare online and enroll in a Medicare Supplement with a Medicare Part D plan or enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan. One should always confirm that their cancer facility and/or medical providers accept the Medicare Advantage plan they are enrolling in. With Original Medicare, the Medicare recipient can make as much money as needed and not lose medical benefits. Not like losing Medicaid and your medical benefits because of making too much money!

Social Security Information and Resources For Seniors and Retirees