New CMS Rule - Employment Should be Required for Receiving MEDICAID Benefits.

originally posted by: diggindirt

If you don't find a paying job right away you can certainly go down to the charity of your choice and volunteer your time. Only 20 hours a week is required,

That's not defined as work.

You could also be working very hard at your unpaid "hobby" and the government doesn't recognize it as "work."

Activities for which you are not paid is "not" work.

Doing things you love, because you love doing them, is just "activity."

If the IRS can't tax it, it's not work.

Work is activity for which someone is willing to pay you a sum of money.

a reply to: AMPTAH

So would a business that is still being built not be work?

originally posted by: Aazadan
a reply to: AMPTAH

So would a business that is still being built not be work?

If it's a business then its work because you are "anticipating" payment.

The rule is something like 2 years you can work a business and have your activity classified as work, because you're doing it for future income, but after 2 years if you haven't made any money, the IRS reclassifies your activity as a "hobby".

There's a time limit involved that concerns when you must receive payment for your activity to be classified as work.

a reply to: AMPTAH
I believe you are misinformed. Volunteer work will count in the proposal put forth by our governor and included in the waiver granted to the Commonwealth. Perhaps if you read past the word "work" you could get a better understanding of the new programs.
Like a lot of other posters here you seem to be really hung up on "work" or "What about the nursing home patients?" when the proposal clearly outlines those issues. Deny ignorance and inform yourself by reading the entire proposal instead of starting to have a meltdown when the word "Work" is mentioned.
"The government" isn't paying for anyone's health care. "The government" has no money except what it extracts from taxpayers so your fellow citizens are paying for your health care when you become dependent on the "The government." How about letting them have a bit of a break by at least trying to contribute something to the society instead of whining about being required to make at least a small contribution to your upkeep.

a reply to: pheonix358

Many people see that they have to do some work, can't sit down and play games all day and they often get a job soon after. It breaks the unemployment cycle.

That's interesting, hadn't thought about that, but yea, it keeps them in circulation making it more likely they will find a job.

originally posted by: mikell
Disability and Medicare enrollment went up big time after the crash of 08 they just about let anyone who applied in and so the mess we have now. talking to a guy yesterday that needs new glasses because he broke his $600 for the third time in 2 years. Hell my insurance wouldn't cover it but Medicaid no problem.

BS they don't let just anyone have disability and medicare. It took me 6 years to get disability. I have 20 years of medical documentation. My current doctor is a MD out of a local hospital. I've been a patient of his for 16 years. I have everything about my case documented. I have school records from when I was a kid. I have work records. Social security's medical examiner knew my doctor. She supported my case for disability. Social Security sent me to 2 different doctors to be examined in 2 different hospitals. Both of them agreed I was disabled. It took 4 years before I had my first hearing in front of a judge. She denied me and her basis was my IQ. She said I was smart and trying to pull one over on the system. I had to wait another 2 years before I got a second hearing. The second hearing I had I was drilled by a federal judge for over an hour. They make sure you're disabled. SS Judges aren't idiots. Unless you go in there with a railroad spike sticking out of your skull your getting denied.

a reply to: carewemust

If able to work then yes they should.

a reply to: carewemust
If doing volunteer work will allow one to keep their Medicade, it would seem to be a pretty good deal. Working 20 hours a week for something that is costing other folks hundreds of dollars a month seems like a good exchange to me.

Just in my extended family I can show you five able-bodied people who are sitting on the couch watching tv and playing with their $700 phones while their relatives who work are paying taxes to keep them in food, shelter and health care.

Do you think the working folk don't resent this? Darn straight they resent it. They have to pay for their own insurance (that is nearly as much as their mortgage payments), their own housing and food. They prepared themselves for that but little did they know that they would have to be paying for their lazy cousins as well.

originally posted by: Aazadan

originally posted by: diggindirt
You have something against people getting work and pulling themselves out of poverty? You think that is going to make you less valuable as a labor asset? Fear not, there are lots of jobs for people who are only working 20 hours a week. Or they can get job training and qualify. That scare you too? They can even go down to their local food bank and volunteer. That's a pretty scary thought too isn't it? People taking jobs from other people....geezee..

I don't know where you are but in our town there are "Hiring" signs everywhere!

The problem with this thinking, and many others in this thread are making it too. They're just talking about having a job. Not a career, not something that provides upward mobility. Just mindless labor. Mindless labor doesn't benefit society, skilled work that requires extensive education does. Everything else is treading water.

They need to start somewhere. What is the problem with a job?

Just mindless labor. Mindless labor doesn't benefit society, skilled work that requires extensive education does.

That's a load of horse manure! Hauling your garbage away is mindless labor. Removing the snow from streets and sidewalks is mindless labor. I could go on but if you think for 5 seconds you'll realize how inane that silly argument sounds to anyone with two working brain cells.

a reply to: wantsome

I feel the entire system needs an overhaul before we do anything else. Its immensely confusing and I swear that minor issues get more consideration than serious ones, whether that be disability or Medicaid or Medicare.

I recently ran into similar troubles. When I won my disability case (after nearly a decade of fighting for it), I was made ineligible for Medicaid, but not Medicare. Thus began 40+ hours of phone calls, very literally, and in the end I am now on Medicare, but Medicaid is paying for it.

Its all a total clusterf$%&. People who are truly in need tend to get lost in the mix of all this. I'm not sure if irony is quite the right word for it, but its a tough situation.

originally posted by: diggindirt
a reply to: AMPTAH
I believe you are misinformed. Volunteer work will count in the proposal put forth

You could redefine "work" in the future. But, the government has a current definition of "work", and you must be paid for it to be work.

"The government" isn't paying for anyone's health care. "The government" has no money except what it extracts from taxpayers so your fellow citizens are paying for your health care when you become dependent on the "The government."

Local governments only have tax revenues, but the federal governments has the ability to create money, and the state and federal government, and even major cities, have the ability to borrow money from foreign nations.

The money that pays for things doesn't all come from tax payers dollars. In fact, that's the whole problem. The governments have the ability to spend way beyond the receipts from their tax base.

If the government really paid using only tax dollars, there would be no escalating debt to worry about.

I think the main problem that I can see at least would be with those people who are legitimately disabled but can't get on disability, maybe this is because the paperwork is too complex, or maybe this is because almost everyone seems to be rejected on their first try on purpose and some people give up after that.

I also have a friend who has been actively trying to get work for over 6 months with no luck, he currently lives in a trailer and pays his bills through odd jobs like yard work. I guess he would have to volunteer.

Another part of this requirement that sounds sketchy is that they don't allow people to prove they are actively looking for work or trying to get on disability, instead, they require that these people volunteer (which is a system I am against, as forced volunteering is a waste of time that could be spent looking for real work or getting on disability, and has no compensation).

There could be other oversights like this.

a reply to: diggindirt

And on the flip side of things, you have a poster here the other day writing about how his wife is a 22 year Walmart employee and she's still at the cashier rank in her career. That might be honest work, but it's not going to get you anywhere in life.

The preferred end goal for a welfare system is that people gain enough assistance in life that they can wind up being self sufficient. Forcing people to work low level dead end jobs just wastes their time, it doesn't let them take any steps to improving themselves and working around illness and disability.

That's 20 hours/week of self improvement time you're taking from each and every person who most needs to improve themselves in society.

a reply to: Aazadan

Self improvement time? And how exactly is money for free self improvement?

a reply to: AMPTAH
Why not just read the document?
www.medicaid.gov...

Your irrational fear of work will be relieved. Volunteer work has now become "community engagement" and all guidelines are there for you to see. And please note that this is a voluntary program for states who are actually interested in helping their citizens rise out of poverty. In this country today if you want job training there are grants, some state, some federal. If you want education, there are grants, some state, some federal. There are also scholarships available at every institution of higher learning of which I'm aware.

Rather than a "One size fits all" approach. the administration is allowing states to tailor their program to the situation actually present in their state. This is a giant first step. The complaint I've heard from health and care givers who have to deal with these programs is that the Feds don't acknowledge that conditions in Kentucky may be vastly different from conditions in California. Truth of the matter is that there is a radical difference in conditions in eastern Kentucky and western Kentucky. Despite hundreds of millions of dollars poured into eastern Kentucky via the Great Society, they face the same issues they faced in the '60s except the coal barons have left the building taking the jobs, insurance and charitable donations with them.

Deny ignorance. Read the document.

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04
a reply to: Aazadan

Self improvement time? And how exactly is money for free self improvement?

It gives you the free time to actually focus and learn, or the resources to live while attending college.

a reply to: Aazadan
Working at Wal-Mart will pay your bills. You won't be able to buy all the newest e-gadgets on a Wal-Mart paycheck but I know plenty of people who are Wal-Mart or other big box store employees who actually like their jobs and pay their bills with their paycheck. Not everyone can be a rocket scientist or a rock star. Some people have to shovel the sidewalk when a snow comes or cut the grass in summer or serve you up your burgers and beers.

People make choices in life. When we're young and stupid those choices are often poor and we find ourselves paying for our poor choices. That's life. Those situations are lessons to be learned. The trouble these days seems to be that these young people are remaining in the stupidity stage far beyond their early twenties---not able to figure out how to avoid making stupid choices. Apparently nobody ever took them aside and told them, "Be sure you have food, and shelter and some small amount of cash put aside for emergencies before you spend your last dime on a new phone."

If these individually tailored programs will help some of these people to learn to make smarter choices, I'll be all for it. There are immense psychological benefits to becoming an independent adult who doesn't have to crawl into a government office to get the basic necessities of life. Living on the dole isn't good for one's mental health. Becoming a part of the community via participation in the activities of the community is a proven method of enhancing mental health.

Read the document and have your fears of work relieved. www.medicaid.gov...

Man, you folks just freak out at the mention of the word "WORK!" Nobody is going to drag Granny out of the nursing home and make her dig ditches. If you have a problem with able-bodied people contributing to their own upkeep, you have a very skewed view of reality.

it almost sounds like "get rid of your old, tired , and feeble" cause we dont have money to care for you...

IF that sounds familiar it's because it's the Republican motto.

a reply to: carewemust

It's not exactly what I'd support (that being total elimination of MedicAID), but it's certainly a step in the right direction. Yeah, if you're on the dole, there need to be requirements to ensure you're at least doing all you can to provide for yourself in all things.

a reply to: AMPTAH

Performing charity/community service activities satisfies the requirement for receiving Medicaid, if a state chooses to require Medicaid recipients to work a job, or do community service volunteer work. The state will determine the number of hours needed to qualify.