What is Ticket to Work?
The Ticket to Work program provides free job training for Social Security Disability or SSI Disability recipients. Ticket to Work was created by a law passed by Congress in 1999. If you get Social Security Disability or SSI Disability, you will receive a “ticket” in the mail. This “ticket” can be used to get free job training from one of the companies approved by the Social Security Administration (SSA). New Jersey residents started receiving these tickets in November 2002. As of January 7, 2003, almost 20,000 have been mailed in New Jersey.
Ticket to Work helps you get job training so that you have a better chance of returning to work. This is because you can use the ticket as a voucher to get the services you need. These services include job training, higher education, and other options that are geared to allow a return to work.
Do I have to use the ticket to keep my benefits?
No. The Ticket to Work program is voluntary, which makes it different from welfare-to-work programs. No one can make you participate—it’s up to you.
Does everyone get a ticket if they are on SSI or SSDI?
Almost everyone. While most recipients will get tickets over the next few months, there is one important exception. Those disability recipients who have been categorized as “Medical Improvement Expected” (MIE) will not immediately receive tickets. That is, if they are MIE, and (a) they have not yet gone through a Continuing Disability Review (CDR) and (b) have not yet been found to have continuing eligibility for SSI Disability or Social Security Disability, they will not receive a ticket.
Won’t I lose my Medicaid if I work?
No. The Ticket to Work program has features that may remove the roadblocks that require disabled people to choose between medical coverage and work. Generally, medical assistance will be provided to workers with impairments who are not yet too disabled to work. Also, a Medicaid Infrastructure Grant program is available to help the state increase employment options for disabled people. From this grant, New Jersey has a program called Medicaid Buy-in. This is supposed to provide Medicaid coverage to working people with disabilities whose family income does not exceed 250% of the Federal Poverty Level, minus disregards. The New Jersey Department of Human Services is required under the program to develop a system for case management to help individuals and professionals in understanding the buy-in program, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The law also expands Medicare coverage to people with disabilities who work. It extends Part A premium-free coverage for at least four-and-a-half years beyond the current limit (39 months) for most Social Security Disability beneficiaries who work. This is a minimum of eight-and-a-half years for most Social Security Disability beneficiaries who work.
If I go into training or start working, will they think I’m no longer disabled?
No. They will defer your medical continuing disability reviews (CDRs). According to the SSA, a person who is using a ticket will not be subject to regularly scheduled continuing disability medical reviews. (However, benefits can still be terminated if earnings are above the limits set by the SSA.)
What if I start working, and then I lose my benefits, but then I can’t work anymore because of my disability?
For those who participate in Ticket to Work and are successful in re-entering the workforce, or are otherwise able to return to work and have stopped receiving benefits, there is a recent program that provides for the quick reinstatement of benefits. Effective January 1, 2001, when a person’s Social Security or SSI Disability benefits have ended because of earnings from work, he or she can request reinstatement of benefits, including Medicare and Medicaid, if applicable, without filing a new application. According to SSA, recipients must be unable to work because of their medical condition. They must file the request for reinstatement with Social Security within 60 months of the month their benefits are terminated. In addition, they may receive temporary benefits—as well as Medicare or Medicaid—for up to six months while their case is being reviewed. If they are found to be not disabled, these benefits will not be considered an overpayment.
How can I find out more about Ticket to Work?
The private government services contractor Maximus has been awarded the contract to administer the Ticket to Work program in New Jersey. As of January 2003, there are 15 “Employment Networks” approved for the program. You can contact them by going to their Web site (link below). You can also call them at 1-866-YOURTICKET (1-866-968-7842), or 1-866-TDD2WORK (1-866-833-2967) for the hearing and speech impaired.
You may also visit the Social Security Administration Web site (link below) to find out more about Ticket to Work and keeping Medicaid while you are in the program or working.
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2003 issue of Looking Out for Your Legal Rights®.
This information last reviewed February 2003. |
