July 7, 2022
Currently, the federal public health emergency (PHE), which began in March of 2020, is still in effect. With the PHE comes additional flexibilities relating to Medicaid beneficiaries' monetary resources and their eligibility for Medicaid. During the PHE, no Medicaid beneficiaries are supposed to receive Medicaid termination notices regardless of if they have more resources than the allowable maximum.
When the PHE ends, however, Medicaid will send out redetermination paperwork, and any individuals with more than the allowable amount of resources will be at risk of losing Medicaid.
In most cases, for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) enrolled in New Jersey's Aged, Blind and Disabled (ABD) Medicaid program, the maximum amount of allowable resources is just $2,000. Exceptions to this maximum amount are those who have Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts or special needs trusts (SNTs).
In addition to ABLE accounts and SNTs, exceptions to this limit are given to those enrolled in NJ WorkAbility Medicaid. NJ WorkAbility regulations allow individuals with IDD who are employed either part- or full-time to have up to $20,000 in resources, in addition to retirement accounts that people enrolled in NJ WorkAbility also are permitted to have.
Click here to learn more about ABLE accounts, click here for more information on SNTs, and click here to access New Jersey's NJ WorkAbility page.
