Please Vote YES on HB37 o HB 904’s sunset provision (set for 7/1/26) must be removed (see below) o Virginians w/ Medicaid waivers who receive SSDI, are in danger of losing waivers if SSDI, plus other income, puts them over income cap o If individual’s parent dies/retires, individual's SSDI amount is impacted. Impact may surpass income cap for waiver eligibility o If individual can work, income is counted along with SSDI benefits; must be kept under income cap. Virginians w/Medicaid waivers MUST accept lower pay, and/or less hours than co-workers. Some lose their jobs. o Medicaid waivers provide necessary supports for disabled individuals so they can live like other Virginians Individuals who lose eligibility for waivers, lose group home support, medical support, other service supports put in place to help them live lives like other Virginians o HB37 allows for slightly larger ‘window’ of eligibility for Medicaid waiver recipients who parents have died/retired, and for those who want to work APPROVAL/ENACTMENT OF THIS BILL MUST BE COMMUNICATED BROADLY AND CLEARLY; GUIDANCE/TRAINING MUST BE ON-GOING.THIS WAS NOT THE CASE FOR HB 904 (SEE BELOW): o Our 36-year old son has Medicaid waiver and receives SSDI. His employer would like him to work more but he cannot, due to Medicaid Waiver Income Cap o In 8/2025, I discovered in an Autism Society presentation that HB 904, addressing these issues, was approved on 3/28/2024. WE WERE NEVER INFORMED. o 9/2025: DFS case manager and supervisor told me they did not know of the passage of HB 904 until informed by me o CSB/Fairfax did not share info with ARC of Northern Virginia who sub-contracts with CSB to manage our son’s Medicaid waiver o DMAS policy manager stated, ‘a policy change was made in the state plan and deployed on 12/1/2024 in VACMS and broadcast to all state and local staff on 12/4/2024 with another broadcast on 12/10/2024 to all LDSS Directors, Benefits Staff, and CoverVA Starr to bring attention to the change and instruct workers how to navigate it’s application' o Yet, nine months later, DFS supervisors and staff were not aware of the change in law, nor its implementation o DMAS policy manager also stated, ‘communication of SSDI Disregard to Impacted Waiver Recipients was not part of the training and is not an expectation of the local benefits worker - We do not typically do outreach about each policy change’ How, then, is anyone to know about changes, let alone, implement them? This inadequate communication among agencies/organizations responsible for implementing HB 904/SSDI Disregard resulted in no change in policy for waiver recipients who collect SSDI. There was no guidance This flawed roll-out of HB 904 appears to be intentional. Without knowledge of the approval, and guidance for implementation, data could not be collected for review before the sunset date of 7/1/2026. It appears that DMAS had no desire to assure implementation of this law. HB37 will remove the sunset clause, BUT ALSO must assure that communication of this policy change will be clear to policymakers, supervisors, providers and care-givers so they will be able to navigate the DMS system to assure that Virginians who receive SSDI and Medicaid waivers will have their needs met in the most equitable manner possible. Laura Laverdiere; Springfield, VA; lauralaverdiere@msn.com; 571-239-4418

This is Mark Williamson and I provided written comments yesterday ,1/28, and want to supplement/clarify one point in regard to the SSDI disregard bill (HB 37). My intellectuality disabled son currently receives SSDI benefits over the Medicaid Waiver cost of living allowance (approx $1640). Note that right now he receives 50% of my benefit (approx $2000) and upon my death that benefit will increase to approx $3,000. BUT THE WAY THE BILL IS WORDED EVERY DOLLAR HE RECEIVES OVER THE COST-OF-LIVING ALLOWANCE AS SET BY THE STATE (CURRENTLY $1640) IS REUNDED TO THE MEDICAID WAIVER PRORAM, So he WILL NEVER BE ENTITLED TO KEEP MORE THAN THE STATE MANDATED COST OF LIVING ALLOWANCE (currently approx $1640). When his social security disability benefit "bumps up' upon my death he will see NONE of that and ALL of that increase would be refunded to the state Medicaid program. So in an economic sense FEDERAL social security dollars would be rerouted into the state's pockets under this bill. A win/win for the Commonwealth. Thank you. Mark Williamson

My name is Kathleen Walsh. My family and I live in Alexandria, Virginia. My autistic twins are 17 years old, juniors in high school. It is our hope that they will both be able to participate in and contribute to the community with support from the DD waiver. The Services provided are only available through medicaid. They are not available privately. Unless HR 37 passes, the SSDI benefits I earned and they will receive once they are 18 will make them ineligible for Medicaid. If it does pass, Any amount they receive or earn above the Medicaid threshold, would be paid back to Medicaid for The services they receive. I was a lawyer. I now have a rare, progressive disease. As such, I currently receive the Social Security Disability Insurance that I earned. My son only recently received the DD waiver. My daughter has not yet. The services he receivesEnables him to learn skills from a professional and live in the community. This is particularly important to my family, because we are not able to take him out into the Community because of my disease. As they become older, and especially after we pass away, the waiver services Like job Coaching and housing supports Will ensure that they do not become homeless and can remain productive And engaged members of the community. My daughter does not yet have the DD waiver. She shares her brother’s needs, but to different degrees and may need different services. Please support Del. Shin's bill. HB37. It would allow my children to keep services and be productive members of the community. Any money that they earned or receive above the Medicaid threshold, would be paid back to Medicaid for the services they receive. This provides a revenue stream to the state. Knowing that the waiver services will be there to support our children, both now and when we are gone, enables my husband and me not to worry about their ability to function in the future, without us. Please contact Del. Shin or Lucy Beadnell with questions. Lucy Beadnell (she/her) Director of Advocacy The Arc of Northern Virginia P: 703-208-1119 x116 Lucy.beadnell@thearcofnova.org www.thearcofnova.org Thank you. Kathleen Walsh, Alexandria, VA 22308

My son, Brian, is 35 and severely autistic with intellectually disability. He functions mentally at the level of about a 3-year-old. But he is a wonderful child and we love him greatly. He in unable to work so I have a slightly different problem from those in the Medicaid Waiver program who are able to work. He has been in the Medicaid Waiver program for about 20 years now so he can receive the supports so he can live at home. He needs 24/7 care. I receive $4130 in social security benefits as I am 67 and retired. In my working years I paid the maximum amount into the social security program, so I have maximum benefits. But those level of benefits create the problem. Brian currently receives SSDI benefits of half that, or $2065. All amounts above approx $1640 are refunded to the Medicaid waiver program so he is one of the few Medicaid waiver recipients who actually pays money back to the state Medicaid waiver program. Without the extension of this bill to permanent status, if I were to die, he would receive 75% of my SS benefit or $3120 (in today's dollars) which would put him over the Medicaid Waiver Income cap; and thus he would lose his waiver slot and be left to fend on his own (remember I am dead at this point). For example, without the permanent extension of the SSDI income disregard bill (HB 37), I could live another 20 years at which point Brian would have been in the Medicaid Waiver system for FORTY years and then, at the same time his father dies, he would lose his Medicaid Waiver benefits for no fault of his own!!! Please image if you were in my shoes, knowing that your death would cause your severely disabled child to lose the very benefits that allow him to survive; and which he had been receiving for DECADES. DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN. YOU all can prevent this result by making the SSDI disregard bill first passed in 2024 PERMANENT. Support HB 37. Sorry if this all sounds morbid but I had a 3500-word limit and I had to get to the point. Mark Williamson

Please Vote YES on HB37 People with developmental disabilities using the Medicaid Developmental Disability Waivers (Community Living, Family and Individual Support, and Building Independence) who receive SSI are required by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to migrate during their lifetimes from personal SSI disability benefits to SSDI benefits on their parents' work record when a parent retires or dies. SSDI benefits can be more than quadruple the amount of SSI, and the migration of benefits either puts disabled Medicaid-funded Waiver recipients precariously close to the income limit for Medicaid in Virginia—often preventing them from having a vocational job—or takes them over the limit, and they lose all of their state-approved life-supporting Waiver services entirely. This bill makes permanent the requirement for DMAS to amend the financial eligibility standards for certain waivers providing services to individuals with DD so that SSDI income is disregarded by DMAS when calculating financial eligibility for the Medicaid Waiver.

SSI recipients like me who also get Medicaid should not loose benefits when it is necessary to change to SSDI in the future.

I am an employer of 33 adults with disabilities in two different locations in Falls Church - Jake's Ice Cream and Jake's Gourmet Popcorn. Most of my employees have SSI, SSDI and Waivers. Everyone who works for me gets paid no less than minimum wage PLUS tips. Tips can add $2-4.00 per hour to their paycheck. Due to the income limits, it is an insane process for me to work out schedules for staff to assure they don't exceed their total money limits. It's bad enough that the SSDI benefit PLUS wages cannot exceed $2829 per month. Due to these limits some of my staff can only work ONE day per week. Others can work 4 days per week but are unable to fill in for another staff person who calls out sick or they will exceed the income limit. Losing or reducing benefits is a real hardship for these individuals. We all know that it is not possible to live independently on 40 hours per week of minimum wage (which is $2043.20 per month). All of these individuals have a cap on benefits plus wages and can't have more than $2000 in assets total. None of these people are getting "rich" on these small amounts of money. They have to spend down their income to avoid the $2000 cap by paying for rent, food and other expenses. Having a low cap on the combined total makes it disadvantageous for any of these people to work. It makes it disadventageous for an employer to hire them due to the wacky work schedules. We recognize that people who have SSDI need assistance. Why not encourage more people to work and earn more money and then put some of that "excess income" towards the services of an aide, companion, job coach etc. This would allow them meaningful time at work with meaningful pay and then would plow back some of the "excess" to cover the expenses for their care and assistants. Use that excess to help cover their expenses and not to disqualify them or take away assistance. This way, if they lose their job or become ill enough to not be able to work, they don't have to qualify all over again. This whole system appears on its face to be arbitrary and punitive rather than thoughtfully worked out to everyone's benefit - the individual and the state.

HB37 has been very successful in allowing individuals to keep their DD waiver, and also their benefits and continue working if that is their dream. We all as humans have the right to work and contribute to society. Please support making HB37 permanent so that when my husband dies, my son can keep working at Costco, which he has done successfully for the last 18 years. Without this legislation, he will need to quit work to protect his waiver, which provides essential, supports and services, to allow him to live in the community with dignity. Without this legislation, not only will, my son have to deal with the death of his father, but also the loss of his job. This legislation costs the state nothing but means everything! Thank you for making the right decision. I trust you will. From a concerned mom. Respectfully, Pam Spiering

Please approve this bill. The trial period has been a great success without cost to the state. My son now has a secure future once we die. His mental health relies on continuing to work. Otherwise once we are gone there is no future stability for him, so thank you from great foul hearts up north! Donna and Bruce Burnette On behalf of Brett Carroll

These should be basic right standards. These cause less trauma, less injuries, deaths, and for a better society