People with disabilities have higher health care needs than any other population. They require more doctors appointments, medications, medical devices, lab testing, and procedures. These costs can add up quickly, eating into savings and putting them into debt. 

After being on SSDI for two years, people with disabilities can enroll in Medicare. However, Medicare only covers 80% of health care costs, does not include prescription medications, and Medigap policies are expensive and sometimes not available to people under 65.

Many people on SSDI receive sub-poverty level benefits and thus qualify for Qualified Medicare Beneficiary Medicaid, and Medicaid will cover what Medicare does not.

But many Marylanders worked many years in high-paying jobs before becoming disabled. These Marylanders are granted a benefit that is above the federal poverty guidelines, and thus they cannot get Medicaid. However, SSDI, even at "higher" amounts, is not enough to both live and cover 20% of their medical costs. Marylanders with disabilities can quickly spend all of their monthly benefits on medical costs if they are not covered by Medicaid.

While there are program like the Spend Down program and Medicaid Waiver programs, many Marylanders still find themselves in a situation where they make "too much" to get aid they desperately need, but not enough to cover their prescription costs and they must choose between treating their disabilities or paying rent. As the cost of living continues to rise rapidly and benefits have not kept up with inflation, the Marylanders with disabilities are facing homelessness and death.

Many disabilities are progressive, and failure to treat can lead to a permanent decline in their condition and they can lose some of the functionality they had previously maintained. 

By placing an income limit on Marylanders with disabilities and denying them Medicaid, they are sentenced to misery and possibly death.

Meanwhile, in the District of Columbia, people with disabilities can still get QMB Medicaid even at up to 300% of the FPG. This relief has ensured that people with disabilities do not have to choose between medications and rent. There is a quiet emigration of Marylanders desperate to be able to afford medical care into DC. But we shouldn't have to leave the state we love and call home.

It is time for the Maryland government to act. Remove means-testing and income limits for QMB and allow all Marylanders with disabilities to access Medicaid. We must act now, the cost of living is only rising and by alleviating the cost of medical care for people with disabilities, more people can keep up with these risings costs and not end up homeless. Please stop denying Medicaid to those with disabilities.