Moving ahead with Minnesota benefits,
a Griffin Hamis production.
I have a disability and I'm just
struggling to pay my bills.
Are there any programs that could help me?
That's a great question.
Minnesota does have some public benefits.
They help people with disabilities in three main ways.
First, they can help cover basic needs like food,
rent, and healthcare.
There are two types of public benefits, cash benefits,
and healthcare benefits.
Okay, so what are the cash benefits?
There are a number of them.
Each help different groups of people.
General assistance in Minnesota supplemental aid are cash
benefits for people with disabilities who have low income.
Housing support is also for people with disabilities
who have low income.
It pays for rent, utilities, and food.
The supplemental nutrition assistance program, which used
to be called food stamps, is for any household
with low income.
It helps pay for food too.
And lastly, the Minnesota Family Investment Program is a
cash benefit for families with low income
who have kids under 18 living in the household.
Oh, wow. There are a lot of them. Yes,
There are.
There are also several healthcare programs.
Medical assistance called MA
for Short helps pay medical expenses
for people with low income.
Minnesota Care also helps pay medical expenses.
It's for people with low to middle income
who can't get affordable healthcare through their job.
Lastly, the Medicare Savings Programs help pay Medicare
expenses for people with low income.
You can read about them at MN.DB101.org.
Wow. I see how Minnesota benefits can be helpful
in covering basic needs.
You are right. They can. The second way they help is
by making sure you have more money when you work.
How do they do that? Let's say you get $350
of general assistance.
Then you get a job making $400 a month.
When you work, the cash benefits aren't reduced
by every dollar you earn with most of the cash benefits,
the first $65 you earn is excluded,
and then only half of what's left is counted.
That means your general assistance would only go down
by $167
and 50 cents, not the full $400 you earned.
So you have $182
and 50 cents of general assistance plus $400 of wages,
which is $582 and 50 cents.
That's more than the $350 you had.
Now, that's certainly not enough to live on,
but it's a helpful safety net while you build up your
ability to work more.
Since public benefits only help cover basic needs, it's good
to know work is the best option
and can get you to a better place.
That's great. The third way Minnesota benefits help is
by making sure people
with disabilities have healthcare coverage when working.
This is possible through a program called Medical Assistance
for Employed Persons with Disabilities,
or MA-EPD for short.
Oh, yeah. I think I've heard of that,
but I'm not sure how it works.
It's easy to use.
You just need to meet the eligibility rules
and pay a monthly premium.
Okay, and what are the eligibility rules?
You must have a disability
or blindness that's been certified by Social Security
or the Minnesota State Medical Review team and be working.
One of the most amazing things about MA-EPD is
that there's no upper income limit
and no limit on the things you own.
You can earn thousands of dollars each month, save
for things like a house or a car
and still be eligible for MA-EPD.
That is incredible.
I am so relieved to know I can keep ma if I start working.
I'm curious, what would the monthly premium be?
The amount you pay depends on your income.
There's a calculator on MN.DB101.org
that you can use to get an estimate.
You'll find it in the MA-EPD article.
Great. I'll check it out.
I see how the Minnesota Public benefits can help me cover
basic needs when I need it,
and make sure I get ahead when I work.
You can learn even more about the Minnesota benefits on
MN.DB101.org.
Check out the cash benefits and healthcare coverage sections
or get answers to questions by starting a chat.
Click chat online at the top or bottom of each page.
And if you'd like to talk to someone about your questions,
call the Disability hub MN at
1-866-333-2466.
To see more videos like this one, go
to MN.DB101.org.
Knowledge is power.
Take time to learn more about Minnesota benefits.