Aged, Blind, & Disabled

Facilitated Enrollment for the Aged, Blind, & Disabled

We educate and assist aged, blind, or disabled New Yorkers with enrolling in and using public health insurance programs.

What is the FE-ABD Program?

The FE-ABD program is a New York State-sponsored public health insurance application assistance program for people who are Aged, Blind, or Disabled. We educate and assist New Yorkers with enrolling in and using public health insurance programs.

What Programs Can We Help You Apply For?

Medicaid: Public health insurance for low-income individuals. Medicaid can cover Nursing Home and Long Term Care coverage.
Medicaid Excess Income/Resource Program(s): A Medicaid program for people with income and/or resources over the usual Medicaid levels.
Medicaid Buy In for Working People with Disabilities: A Medicaid program for working people with disabilities who may be earning more than the usual limits for Medicaid.
Medicare Savings Programs (MSP): A program that can help people enrolled in Medicare to pay monthly premiums and lower out-of-pocket costs.

Who Do We Help?

We help anyone who is 65 or older, blind, or disabled.
We can talk with you, your family member, or anyone who is helping you with your health insurance or care decisions.

How Do we Help?

We help through private, one-on-one counseling about public health insurance options through:
- In-person application assistance at one of our 100 meeting sites around New York State
- In-person application assistance at your home, if you have difficulty traveling or communicating by phone
We help through education sessions for consumers, caregivers, and other service providers.

Agency Phone Numbers

ACR Health	315-475-2430
Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI)	585-613-7662, option 3
Healthy Capital District Initiative (HCDI)	518-462-1459
Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley (ILCHV)	518-274-0701
Mothers & Babies Perinatal Network (M&BPN)	800-231-0744
S2AY Rural Health Network	800-346-2211
Southern Adirondack Independent Living Center (SAIL)	518-792-3537
Southern Tier Independence Center (STIC)	607-724-2111
Western Disabled On the Move, Inc. (WDOMI)	914-968-4717

Consumer Experiences

As featured on the Community Service Society website, read more about John’s experience with the FE-ABD program.

In John’s words… "I'm not good at filling out forms and understanding how Government Programs work, having someone to help me understand what I qualified for was wonderful in helping me to get what I needed. I could not have done this by myself."

John met with Bobbi McGarrity, Facilitated Enroller for the Aged, Blind and Disabled Program, in September of 2016 to apply for Medicare Savings Program (a program that reimburses income eligible individuals for their Medicare Part B premium). During his appointment, John disclosed that he had consistent dental issues and pain for several years. His Dr. informed him that he would eventually need to have all his teeth removed to avoid further complications and infection. This news was very unsettling for John. He thought- "how will I afford this on a fixed income" and he knew that Medicare did not cover dental expenses. Bobbi explained the Medicaid Excess Income Program and how that might help John with his dental needs. Though skeptical at first, he was educated on how the program worked and that it was a voluntary program that he could chose to participate in on months that he needed Medicaid. Ultimately John was approved for MSP and Medicaid with a $57.13 Spenddown. During the months, he was having dental work done, he would meet with Bobbi for assistance in submitting his $57.13 check to the Local Department of Human Services. His spenddown was very feasible as he was now getting the MSP reimbursement.

As of November 2017, John has a full set of new teeth and met his goal of having this completed by Thanksgiving! John is feeling great, has renewed self-confidence and his quality of life has dramatically improved.