‘Everything’s been taken away’: Woman fights to remove age restriction for disabilities benefits
By Tommie Clark
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BALTIMORE (WBAL) — A Baltimorean, who is quadriplegic, is sharing her struggle to stay in her home in hopes of helping others facing the same fate.
11 News has followed Janice Jackson’s journey for more than a decade. At 24, Jackson was hit by a car and paralyzed, but that life-altering injury did anything but slow her down.
“Your life takes this shift – a very successful life as a woman with a disability,” Jackson told 11 News.
Jackson – now a professor at the University of Baltimore and the founder of the nonprofit Women Embracing Abilities Now, which empowers women with disabilities – is pleading for change when it comes to how in-home care is funded for some Marylanders with disabilities.
Jackson’s work even earned her the nation’s second-highest civilian honor when former President Barack Obama presented her with the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal.
“As she recovered and regained her strength, she revolved to give that strength to others in need,” Obama said.
Twelve years later, the medal sits on a stand at her home, where she has lived since the crash. But she herself is at risk of losing everything because of her birthday on Dec. 7.
“Sixty-five should have been a wonderful milestone for me,” Jackson told 11 News. “But in the back of my mind, all I could think of is how my life would change and that the possibility of a nursing home is real.”
Jackson relies on Maryland’s Employed Individuals with Disabilities Program, which supplements insurance with Medicaid services. As a result, those covered who need intensive support are able to get what they need, even if their income level is more than Medicaid limits.
But it comes with a couple major restrictions, including an age limit of 65. During the 2024 legislative session, Jackson testified in Annapolis for a bill to remove the age restriction.
But as has happened in years past, the age limit portion of the bill failed. State leadership wrote that they wanted more research on the “fiscal and operational impact (of) serving individuals age 65 and older.” The findings were due on Dec. 1.
Jackson is now receiving enough care to survive, but she’s at risk of losing her home, her community and her quality of life.
“Everything’s been taken away,” Jackson told 11 News.
Her only hope is to continue what she has always done: Advocate. And, she’s not alone.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” advocate Josh Basile said. “Let her keep working, let her pay taxes, let her contribute and let her be a part of society outside of a nursing home. She deserves better. People deserve better.”
Basile said more voices are needed behind to support the bill when they try again next session. He’s asking supporters to tell their legislators about it to help Jackson and those who will come after her.
“I’m doing this interview hoping that no one else has to go through what I’m dealing with now,” Jackson told 11 News. “It’s really a scary reality.”
Jackson’s family and friends are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with a catastrophic Injury.
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