MaineCare Enrollees with Disabilities: Work Experience. Results from a 2002 Survey

This report presents the results of a survey about the work experience of people with disabilities enrolled in MaineCare (Medicaid). The Bureau of Elder and Adult Services (BEAS), Maine Department of Human Services, commissioned the survey to gain a better understanding of certain MaineCare enrollees' reasons for working or not working and to learn more about what services people used to make work possible. The survey also sought information that could be compared to the results of a similar survey in 2001 of a particular group of MaineCare enrollees those enrolled in the MaineCare Option for Workers with Disabilities, or WWD Option. The WWD Option is a MaineCare eligibility category that provides full MaineCare coverage for working people with disabilities who have countable income up to 250% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and who do not have unearned income above 100% FPL. The WWD Option was created in 1999 to encourage people with disabilities to increase their job earnings without fear of losing health coverage. This report presents the results from the 2002 survey of MaineCare enrollees with no WWD Option experience, and compares them to results from the similar 2001 survey of people with WWD Option experience. The report also discussed what the 2002 survey results can teach us about how to encourage and support people with disabilities who want to work.