On December 18, 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed A.5175-A into law! This is a significant victory for the entire Disability Community of New York State because the State Health Department will be required to inform consumers of all options available to them in order to be Medicaid qualified! Continuing to be Medicaid eligible is important to our community because without it we would be unable to pay for items like Attendant Services, medical supplies, service coordination, and more. With a Pooled Trust, you no longer have to choose between getting the Medicaid billable services and paying for necessary living expenses like food, rent, or clothing. The Pooled Trust option also helps place the power of our own lives back into our hands and no one else. It helps us stay in the community and out of costly, isolating institutions!

We thank Governor Cuomo for signing this bill and working with the Legislature’s chief sponsors who introduced this legislation in both the Assembly and Senate! Through the enactment of this new measure in the New York State Social Services Law, this important tool for qualifying for Medicaid with Excess Income will no longer be a hidden secret!