76. What medical expenses can I claim if I am elderly or disabled?
Any member of your household who is elder (age 60 or older) or disabled is allowed to claim un-reimbursed medical and health-related expenses as an income deduction. This applies to disabled children as well as adults. Medical expenses to qualify for the standard medical deduction can be self-declared!
The more expenses you claim, the lower your net countable income. The lower your countable income, the higher the SNAP benefits your household will receive – up to the maximum SNAP amount for your household.
There are two ways SNAP handles un-reimbursed medical expenses1.
- Standard medical deduction of $155: If your out-of-pocket medical expenses are at least $35 a month, you will receive a standard deduction of $155 off of your monthly income. You can self-declare your health care expenses that exceed $35/month and get the standard $155 deduction.
- Actual medical expenses: If you incur and verify more than $190 per month in medical expenses (the $35 threshold plus the $155 standard deduction), you can claim the actual expenses (minus the $35 threshold) to boost your SNAP benefits.
Example
Esther is 78 years old. She has MassHealth coverage, but the combination of small pharmacy co-pays plus over-the-counter pain relief, travel and other items add up to $35+ per month. Esther can self-declare these expenses. Her SNAP benefits will be calculated using a $155 medical expense deduction.
If Esther has more than $190/month in out-of-pocket expenses, and if verifying them would boost her monthly SNAP, she should claim and verify her actual expenses.
If you have a one-time medical expense during your certification period, you have the option of claiming the expense as a one-time deduction or having it averaged over a number of months2. DTA should look for the most advantageous option for averaging the one-time bill.
Example 1
Esther is 70 and applies for SNAP. She receives Social Security for a total of $1,300/month unearned income and is certified for SNAP for 12 months. She also pays $500/month in rent, plus the cost of heat and utilities. She is approved for $201 in SNAP. A month later, she reports a one-time unpaid dental bill of $500. DTA should average her bill out over the next 11 months (the rest of her certification period). Averaging the $500 by 11 months ($45/mo), Esther gets the standard medical expense deduction. Her SNAP increases to $270.
Example 2
Esther’s one-time unpaid dental bill is actually $350. $350 over 11 months does not exceed $35 (is only $31). The DTA worker should average her bill out over 10 months to give her the $155 standard medical expense deduction, which maximizes her SNAP. (The DTA worker should also ask Esther if she has any other out of pocket medical expenses that she could self-declare to boost her SNAP.)