Do Medicare Advantage Plan reward cards count as income for Social Security benefits?

Those Medicare Advantage reward cards are considered health benefits, not income. SSA doesn't count them toward your income limits for SSDI or SSI purposes. They're similar to insurance covering medical expenses - the value isn't counted as income to you. You can switch to that plan without worrying about affecting your benefit amount.

im on the same advantage plan probably!! is it the AARP United Healthcare one?? those cards are SO GOOD i get $120/month and buy all my vitamins with it. nobody told me it would count for income so i hope not!!!

Wait but I thought ANY money or things of value you receive are supposed to be reported?? Isnt that considered in-kind support and maintenance?? What if they audit you?? I'd be really careful and maybe call SSA directly to confirm this if I were you...

Social Security benefit specialist here. To clarify: Medicare Advantage plan benefits like reward cards for OTC items are NOT countable income for Social Security purposes. This applies to both SSDI and SSI. These cards are considered a health insurance benefit, similar to how your plan covering a doctor visit isn't income to you. They're part of your healthcare coverage, not additional income. The only time you need to worry about reporting "things of value" is for SSI specifically (not SSDI), and only in specific circumstances like receiving food or shelter from someone else. Insurance benefits don't fall into this category.

I've been on a Medicare Advantage plan with the reward card ($90/month) for over 2 years and also receive SSDI. NEVER had any issues with SSA counting it as income. It's considered a health benefit, not income. The whole point is to help with health-related expenses. Go ahead and sign up - you're missing out on free OTC meds!

Been trying to call SSA to clarify this exact question for my dad! Called 15+ times over 3 days and couldn't get through to anyone. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in under 5 minutes. The agent confirmed that Medicare Advantage reward cards are NOT countable income for Social Security purposes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - honestly wish I found this sooner instead of wasting days on hold.

one time my cousin got a gift card from work and they counted it as income for her taxes so i got confused too!!

I just realized we might be talking about two different things here. Are you talking about the reward cards some plans give you for doing healthy activities (like going to checkups) OR the monthly allowance cards for buying OTC items? Because those might be treated differently!

The whole Social Security system is ridiculous with what they count as income! My neighbor got dinged because someone regularly brought her groceries and SSA counted that as "in-kind support" for her SSI. But then things like these cards don't count? Makes NO SENSE.

I'm actually dealing with a similar situation right now! I'm on SSI and was hesitant to sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan because I was worried about ANY additional benefits affecting my eligibility. Reading through all these responses has been really helpful - especially hearing from the benefit specialist and people who've actually been using these plans without issues. It's frustrating how hard it can be to get clear answers about what counts as income and what doesn't. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!

I'm a newcomer here but wanted to share my experience - I switched to a Medicare Advantage plan with the OTC card benefit about 6 months ago while on SSDI. I was super nervous about it too, but my benefits worker at the local office confirmed these cards don't count as income. I get $100/month and use it for vitamins, first aid supplies, and some healthy snacks. Haven't had any issues with my SSDI payments at all. The peace of mind plus the actual help with expenses has been amazing!

As someone new to this community, I really appreciate all the detailed responses here! I'm currently on SSDI and have been considering switching to a Medicare Advantage plan with these OTC benefits, but I've been so worried about accidentally doing something that could affect my benefits. It's really helpful to hear from both the benefit specialist and people who have actual experience using these plans. The fact that multiple people have confirmed these cards are treated as health insurance benefits rather than income gives me confidence to move forward. Does anyone know if there are any specific Medicare Advantage plans that are particularly good for people on disability benefits?

As someone new to this community and currently navigating Medicare options while on SSDI, this entire discussion has been incredibly enlightening! I was actually about to skip Medicare Advantage plans entirely because I was so worried about any potential impact on my benefits. Reading through all these experiences - especially from people who've been successfully using these plans for months or even years without issues - has really put my mind at ease. The clarification from the benefit specialist about these being health insurance benefits rather than countable income makes perfect sense when you think about it that way. I'm definitely going to look into some of the plans mentioned here, particularly the ones with higher OTC allowances. Thank you all for sharing your real-world experiences - it's so much more helpful than trying to decipher the official SSA guidance on your own!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone for this incredibly helpful discussion! I'm currently on SSDI and have been hesitant to explore Medicare Advantage plans because I was terrified of accidentally doing something that could jeopardize my benefits. Reading through all these real experiences - from people who've been successfully using these OTC cards for months and years without any issues with their SSDI - has been such a relief. The explanation from the benefit specialist really helped clarify the difference between actual income versus health insurance benefits. It makes so much sense when you frame it that way - just like how insurance covering a doctor visit isn't considered income to us. I'm definitely going to look into some of these plans now, especially knowing that the OTC allowances can really help stretch our limited budgets. Thank you all for being so generous with sharing your experiences and knowledge!

As a newcomer to this community, I just wanted to say how valuable this entire discussion has been! I'm currently on SSDI and have been putting off exploring Medicare Advantage plans because I was so worried about any potential complications with my benefits. Reading through everyone's experiences - especially hearing from people who've been successfully using these OTC allowance cards for extended periods without any issues - has given me the confidence I needed. The clarification from the benefit specialist about these being health insurance benefits rather than countable income really clicked for me. It's the same concept as how my Medicare Part B covering a specialist visit isn't considered income to me. I'm particularly encouraged by hearing about the $75-120/month allowances that people are getting - that would make a real difference in my monthly budget for vitamins and health supplies. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their real-world experiences. It's so much more helpful than trying to interpret the official SSA guidelines on my own!

As a newcomer to this community, I can't tell you how helpful this entire thread has been! I'm currently on SSDI and have been avoiding Medicare Advantage plans for months because I was terrified of accidentally affecting my benefits. The anxiety of living on disability benefits makes you second-guess every decision. Reading through all these real experiences from people who've been using these OTC cards successfully without any SSDI issues has been such a huge relief. The benefit specialist's explanation really helped me understand the difference between health insurance benefits and actual income - it's like how my current Medicare covering lab work isn't counted as income to me. I'm definitely going to start researching Medicare Advantage plans now, especially ones with those higher OTC allowances. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences - it means so much to newcomers like me who are trying to navigate these complex systems while protecting our essential benefits!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to express my gratitude for this incredibly thorough and helpful discussion! I'm currently on SSDI and have been hesitant to explore Medicare Advantage plans because I was so worried about any potential impact on my benefits. Like many others who have commented, the fear of accidentally jeopardizing my SSDI has made me overly cautious about making any changes to my healthcare coverage. Reading through everyone's real-world experiences - especially from those who've been successfully using these OTC allowance cards for extended periods without any SSDI issues - has been tremendously reassuring. The benefit specialist's explanation about these cards being health insurance benefits rather than countable income really helped clarify the distinction for me. It makes perfect sense when you compare it to how regular Medicare coverage for medical services isn't considered income. I'm particularly encouraged by hearing about the monthly allowances ranging from $75-120 that people are receiving. That kind of help with vitamins, OTC medications, and health supplies would make a meaningful difference in my monthly budget. I'm definitely going to start researching Medicare Advantage plans with these benefits now that I understand they won't affect my SSDI eligibility. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their experiences and knowledge - it's invaluable for newcomers like me who are trying to navigate these complex systems while protecting our essential benefits!

As a newcomer to this community, I just wanted to add my voice to thank everyone for this incredibly informative discussion! I'm currently on SSDI and have been avoiding Medicare Advantage plans entirely because I was terrified of doing anything that might jeopardize my benefits. The constant anxiety of living on disability makes you question every single decision. Reading through all these real experiences has been such a game-changer for my understanding. Hearing from people who've actually been using these OTC cards for months and years without any SSDI complications is so much more valuable than trying to decipher official government documentation. The benefit specialist's explanation really drove it home for me - these allowance cards are health insurance benefits, just like how Medicare covering my doctor visits isn't counted as income. I'm particularly interested in the plans that offer $90-120/month for OTC items - that would genuinely help with my monthly expenses for vitamins and health supplies. It's amazing how much stress I've been carrying about this when the answer was actually straightforward. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences, especially those who took the time to provide detailed explanations. This kind of peer support and real-world knowledge sharing is exactly what newcomers like me need to make informed decisions about our healthcare while protecting our essential benefits!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone for this incredibly detailed and reassuring discussion! I'm currently on SSDI and have been putting off exploring Medicare Advantage plans for months because I was so worried about accidentally affecting my benefits. The fear of making any mistake when you're dependent on disability benefits is really overwhelming. Reading through all these real-world experiences from people who've been successfully using these OTC allowance cards without any SSDI issues has given me so much confidence. The benefit specialist's explanation about these being health insurance benefits rather than income really clicked for me - it's just like how my current Medicare covering prescription drugs isn't counted as income. I'm especially encouraged hearing about the monthly allowances of $75-120 that people are getting. That would genuinely help with my tight budget for vitamins and health supplies. It's such a relief to know I can actually take advantage of these programs without jeopardizing my essential benefits. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and knowledge - this kind of peer support is exactly what newcomers like me need to make informed decisions while protecting our benefits!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone for this incredibly comprehensive discussion! I'm currently on SSDI and have been hesitant to explore Medicare Advantage plans because I was worried about any potential impact on my benefits. Like so many others have mentioned, when you're dependent on disability benefits, you become extremely cautious about making any changes. Reading through all these real-world experiences has been so enlightening - especially hearing from people who've been successfully using these OTC cards for months and years without any SSDI complications. The benefit specialist's explanation really helped clarify things for me. When you think about it as health insurance benefits rather than income, it makes complete sense - just like how Medicare covering my doctor visits isn't considered income. I'm particularly interested in learning more about the plans with higher monthly allowances ($90-120) since that would really help with my budget for vitamins and health supplies. It's such a relief to know I can explore these options without fear of jeopardizing my benefits. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences - this kind of peer support and knowledge sharing is invaluable for newcomers trying to navigate these systems!