I been on SSI for 10 yrs disabled Now when I turned 62 back in June they put me on rsdi, give me a little more a month but dropped my Medicaid. What do I need to do to get my insurance started up? Seems like they left me uninsured and I have doctors to see regularly.

Hi,

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a needs based program designed as a last resort source of income for disabled, blind and aged people with little or no other means of support. One of the requirements for SSI is that you are required to file for any other benefits for which you may qualify as soon as you are eligible for such benefits. Therefore, you basically had to file for Social Security retirement benefits when you turned 62 or else your SSI benefits would have been terminated anyway. But, SSI benefits are offset basically dollar for dollar by all but $20 of your Social Security benefit amount, so if your Social Security rate is at least $20 higher than your SSI rate you would no longer be eligible for SSI benefits.

Medicaid is also a needs based program, but I'm not an expert on Medicaid or any other type of health insurance so I don't know if the agency that administers your Medicaid was correct to terminate your coverage. Medicaid is normally administered by the Department of Social Services at the county level, so you might want to check with them to see if you might still qualify, or to ask them if they have any suggestions on where you might be able to obtain health coverage until you become eligible for Medicare at age 65. I know that this is a major problem for many folks, so I hope that everything works out okay for you.

Best, Jerry