Note: Photo not that of actual client.
“Alisha” has sickle cell anemia and is often in and out of the hospital with pain crises, leaving her unable to work. When she applied on her own for Social Security Disability benefits, she was denied. Jacksonville Health and Transition Services (JaxHATS) at UF Health-Jacksonville referred Alisha to JALA’s Northeast Florida Medical Legal Partnership (NFMLP) for help, and her NFMLP attorney successfully argued she should be found eligible.
Her benefits were granted at the reconsideration level, meaning she didn’t have to wait a year or more to argue her disability at the hearing level. After Alisha was approved for Social Security Disability, the NFMLP helped her apply for MEDS-AD, a category of Medicaid that allows people below 88% of the federal poverty limit to receive state plan Medicaid services.
The income limit for MEDS-AD is slightly higher than the limit for Supplemental Security Income-related Medicaid, allowing some Social Security Disability recipients to access Medicaid while awaiting their Medicare eligibility or to supplement their Medicare coverage.
The Florida Department of Children and Families denied the initial MEDS-AD application, but the NFMLP filed an appeal on Alisha’s behalf, and the Medicaid application was reprocessed and approved. Alisha now has a steady source of income and medical benefits so that her sickle cell anemia can be properly managed.
