Allows for certain disability benefits to continue in the event an individual who is receiving such benefits gets married; provides that the marriage to another individual which would otherwise make an individual ineligible for certain disability benefits shall not be considered if such individual is already receiving disability benefits at the time of becoming married and continues to meet certain criteria.
Summary
S01758 amends New York’s Social Services Law to protect certain Medicaid-related disability benefits for people who marry. Under current law, marriage can change household composition and income calculations in ways that may make some disabled recipients ineligible for medical assistance. This bill creates an exception for an unmarried individual who is already receiving disability-based medical assistance and would otherwise lose eligibility upon marriage, allowing that person to remain eligible if they continue to meet the disability criteria as if they were still unmarried.
The bill also clarifies premium rules for these beneficiaries. A disabled person who marries someone who is not otherwise eligible for the relevant medical assistance program may continue paying the individual premium rate, rather than being treated as part of a couple for premium purposes, so long as the person still satisfies the underlying eligibility standards. The measure adds a new section to the Social Services Law and amends existing eligibility and premium provisions to ensure that marriage alone does not terminate benefits for qualifying disabled individuals.
Impact
The bill would modify sections 366 and 367-a of the Social Services Law and add a new section 366-j, creating a statutory carveout for certain disabled Medicaid recipients who marry. Its practical effect is to preserve medical assistance eligibility and individual premium treatment for a subset of beneficiaries whose benefits would otherwise be reduced or lost because of marital status. The affected parties are disabled adults receiving medical assistance under the specified subparagraphs of section 366, as well as the state agency administering eligibility and premiums.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and caption, the measure appears to be framed as a beneficiary-protection bill intended to prevent marriage penalties for disabled recipients. There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history provided, so no direct evidence of opposition or support is available from the legislative record included here. The overall tone of the proposal is remedial and supportive of continued access to benefits.
Contention
The main policy issue is whether marital status should affect eligibility for disability-based medical assistance. Supporters would likely view the bill as preventing an unfair loss of benefits when a disabled recipient marries, while potential critics could raise concerns about program cost, administrative complexity, or creating a special eligibility rule for a narrow class of recipients. The bill specifically addresses the tension between household-based means testing and preserving benefits for individuals whose disability status would otherwise be penalized by marriage.
Same As
Allows for certain disability benefits to continue in the event an individual who is receiving such benefits gets married; provides that the marriage to another individual which would otherwise make an individual ineligible for certain disability benefits shall not be considered if such individual is already receiving disability benefits at the time of becoming married and continues to meet certain criteria.
Allows for certain disability benefits to continue in the event an individual who is receiving such benefits gets married; provides that the marriage to another individual which would otherwise make an individual ineligible for certain disability benefits shall not be considered if such individual is already receiving disability benefits at the time of becoming married and continues to meet certain criteria.
Expands the real property tax exemption for persons with disabilities to property owners who are a parent or parents of an individual with a disability and such individual lives at such property.