A few weeks ago, I wrote about Charles Van Heuveln, the man who is being forced into poverty because of policy flaws in the state’s Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (MA-EPD) program. Van Heuveln was recently profiled on WCCO, where he explained how he may lose his home because of the severe income restrictions on people over age 65 who receive Medical Assistance. Van Heuveln also posted a YouTube video explaining his plight and asking his fellow Minnesotans to contact their state legislators to urge them to change the law so he can keep working and eventually enjoy a modest retirement in his own home.
I’d like to urge my Minnesota readers to do the same. This is an issue that, left unaddressed, will affect a growing number of Minnesotans with disabilities. Like everyone else, people with disabilities are living longer and many are fully capable of working past age 65. And there are thousands of workers with disabilities (like me) who are accumulating savings in the hopes that we might eventually be able to retire with some degree of dignity. It would be a cruel shame if we were forced to give up those because of arbitrary policy distinctions between “disabled” and “elderly”.
Van Heuveln’s story is getting attention at the Capitol. Before I left work today, I saw that legislation had been introduced that would remove the upper age limit on MA-EPD and let people on the program keep their savings if they do retire. But it will only pass if you make your voices heard. Find out how to contact your legislators here.
