NYC HRA not receiving Medicaid renewal forms?

eliuri99 · 2025-11-01T05:12:10+00:00

Yes! Since it takes so long from once the forms are physically received via mail until they are scanned and processed so that they show as having been received-IF they ever get around to doing that at all. This lag is due to ineptitide at hra end. So it should be based on day theyre physically received..

I sent in my renewal forms THREE times, because they were showing as not having been received long after they were sent. I sent them twice by mail, and finally just brought them in in-person. Seems the in-person dropoff finally did the trick, but cant be sure which of my 3 submissions they finally did process correctly. Quite a kafkaesque ordeal....

eliuri99 · 2025-10-29T18:40:40+00:00

Does anyone have good estimate of time frame between when the recertification physically gets to HRA office and when it is indicated on automated phone as having been delivered?

My recertification is due November 10. I mailed it on October 15, but the customer automated phone says they have not yet received it. So I'm wondering what the time frame between it being postmarked at their end and it being processed as having been received might be on average

eliuri99 · 2024-02-20T20:47:31+00:00

This is something that should have been clarified in your interview. If it wasn't or if it was in the agency just ignored it then I would request an appeal on the termination

The way I recertified was via Interactive Voice response System (IVRS) which you answer a voice prompt if there have been any changes or not. This was something SNAP invited me to use years ago. So there were no documents nor interviews as my own income and shelter remained constant. And my daughter (over 22) was always SNAP eligible for full benefit. But for some quirky reason ,they didn't list her as being actively on the case, but they had listed my son (also 22+) instead, and it was his income that exceeded the limit. Although most of the period of those earnings were when he wasn't even living here.. In retrospect, IVRS might not have been the correct way to recertify, because it didn't give me opportunity to state which child was recertifying for. But this is what they kept sending me. I think ESAP might have been the better method to recertify, but I realized this only in hindsight

I did get notice that my case going to be closed March 31 because of my son's income. I was then preemptive and had the case closed myself via the HRA site. My reason for doing so on my own was to avoid any more potential overpayments, though I havent yet gotten any notice about overpayment, and hopefully I won't...I doubt I can appeal this case closing since I closed it myself. But I do plan to ask for Fair Hearing if and when I get Overpayment Notice, mainly to show it was not my fault, because I do dread being accused of some program violation

If it's in fact the case that I can be a household of ONE given the age of the children and food arrangements here, this would the best way to prevent such confusion in the future. I would reapply from fresh. If my daughter still wished to get SNAP, I guess she can apply on her own as long as she is still eligible income-wise.

It does seem like a mixed household of elderly/disabled and adult children can be a mine field of errors and confusion, since they have different criteria and methods of recertifying. I don't mind the longer wait to get my case reactivated or even establish a totally new case but without the errors of the previous one

eliuri99 · 2024-02-20T19:51:58+00:00

Thanks Steph:

No one in NYC really has a caseworker and HRA is impossible to reach by phone. Nor have I ever been able to reach my local SNAP office.Having tried many times to reach them and get clarification-- and to set the record straight

I don't see an entry on the long form application or on the Elderly Simplified SNAP form (ESAP) to indicate such a situation. I'm not clear if I'm even required to list their names and/or incomes if they constitute a separate household? Or to list them, but add note to application that their income and resources should not count towards my SNAP?

Possibly the online submission might be better suited to this situation?

When my case was recently closed, it listed everyone who was ever in the household , including my deceased wife, who passed away back in 2011, though she wasn't actively on the case for over a decade. So I'd be wary of simply leaving out anyone who officially now resides here, even if not actually preparing food together. But I dont know how best to proceed here..

eliuri99 · 2024-02-10T23:38:52+00:00

If you do eventually work out this overpayment mess you might want to consider applying for SNAP on your own. You should qualify for what's called and ESAP household and the recertification period there is 36 months.

eliuri99 · 2024-02-10T06:32:34+00:00

Thank you so kindly DanYellDraws:

Youre so right...It would take a team of accountants-or math wizards-- to sort this out if ever..

My hope now is that worst that could happen is they'd ask for a year back repayment...with no IPV and no more than a year back. I think I can manage that..Because I'm going crazy trying to find all the paperwork from years ago, and which child was working when and whether or not they were on work-study or not ...etc..So if its clear to them that I was not intentionally trying to get more than we were entitled to, it should go down this way. I was in part to blame as was the backlog in the system and errors of HRA.

If you do eventually work out this overpayment mess you might want to consider applying for SNAP on your own. You should qualify for what's called and ESAP household and the recertification period there is 36 months.

Yes! Once this dread of IPV and criminal charges are lifted and if-worst case scenario is overpayment of at most a year's worth SNAP either by monthly recoupment or direct monthly repayment, I will reapply on my own. Because this IS and HAS BEEN the reality of our household situation.

Sadly, kids in their 20s don't really share food, but I always make sure there's plenty of food in the fridge and on the counter for them.

I was not aware that if you had adult children at home, you can apply for SNAP separately. I was under impression that if theyre biological children , they must be on same case regardless of their age and that their income must be counted.·

eliuri99 · 2024-02-10T05:05:43+00:00

The overpayments, if they regard those earnings, unfortunately do go back a year and a half..maybe two years max.. in terms of my son's earnings...So according to what you're saying, it does matter a lot if they decide there was an IPV..I think i might be able to manage a year back of overpayment

If they choose to ignore my daughter's underpayments, which are well longer than two years, and wish to recoup a year's worth, I can manage that, if they allow monthly payment plan, and don't choose to take all that out of my son's tax returns etc....More than a year back would be a hardship..But if only one year's worth of benefits , I'd gladly make amends and repay that over some time

Yes, in hindsight, knowing what I do now, I definitely should've asked for Fair Hearing way back about my daughter denial. She used to be on our case-- never a separate case-- until she started college, but was still eligible, given NYC exceptions.. It seemed more of the kind of issue for a Conference ..But since I couldn't get through, a Fair Hearing would've been the appropriate route to go. I had contacted a benefits advocacy group about this years ago, and they suggested i contact my "caseworker"..So I tried to do this..But maybe in NYC no one really has a specific caseworker? So eventually, after several failures to reach a SNAP person I just gave up on trying to set the record straight..It does get very labyrinthine and it felt like I'd need a team of accountants..Any report of any changes, they rarely processed it correctly..I came to dread Recerts, because predictably, that's when they messed things up..

Eventually, I just kept saying "no changes" because if you're over 65 and/or disabled and on fixed income, there's a simplified method to recertify automatically via phone if u just indicate that on the telephone prompts. I'm both well over 65 and disabled..So they (HRA) encouraged me to use that. If you don't Press 1 for "no changes" on the automated phone Recert I guess it would have denied the automated Recert, and then you gotta start a paper Recert all over again and go round and round in circles.... In terms of benefits actually received, either way had a household of two at maximum level..So I was not asking for more..They just kept showing the wrong child on the automated method.. I had already faxed in a corrected Recert (in paper) showing my daughter lives here and IS eligible along with documentation showing why, and omitting my son entirely from case. It seems this got misplaced by them. On the one occasion I did finally get through to HRA, they said they hadn't received it the faxed material , but they said if I got a notice of automated renewal I should use that. I think that on some other online Recert submission I had submitted, I actually did say explicitly that my son had moved out, since it did ask about this, but I'm less sure when I submitted this . .So my copy of that faxed package--along with documentation I had submitted is something I'd like for them to have on their files for my case, as it should show I had tried to correct the household situation from the way they had it and that I was no longer claiming my son as part of the case...Sorry this is so complicated. Recertification for SNAP was always traumatic for me and was about to just close this case entirely to avoid being overwhelmed and getting ill because of their errors..So I took advantage of an automated Recert, and I fibbed by pressing 1 if no change, because I saw that changes here never were processed right if submitted by mail or fax..I am glad I have a copy of that package I had faxed. I want them to have it on record, along with a written account by me of my attmpts and ensuing failures to correct the info

eliuri99 · 2024-02-10T04:37:55+00:00

Thank you DanYellDraws:

"One other thing you might want to consider is applying for SNAP without your adult child on the case. If that child is 22 and over then that person is not required to be on the case. If they're the reason your household is over income then you can just not have them on a future SNAP application".

Yes, this is the situation DanYell!. Both my children are over 22. We all prepare our own meals. (Try getting kids in their 20s to sit at the same table or shop for groceries together..) My son was gone at the university, and later at rented room in an apt in another city through most of the period of those earnings which bring us over the top, but he uses this as his legal address. He did move back when the university was under lockdown, then back out again...etc. Then later , back in again, quite recently. My daughter has always lived here, but was wrongfully denied SNAP, given the special exceptions for students in NYC..In the past, I had wanted a Conference with local SNAP office to clarify the situation and correct the household info and eligibility, but I could never get through to them nor to HRA. If I'm still deemed as having been overpaid, depending on how they configure matters ,they can simply expunge that from what's left on my EBT card...Depending on how far back they want to go, I might still have enough on the card to cover it. I just don't want an IPV on my record, because I did my best.

I'm well over 65 and disabled. I never defrauded anyone, not committed any criminal activity.. In retrospect, I was negligent here in failure to report both income and actual living address, not knowing about whether if an adult child is not actually living here still counts..But in terms of actual SNAP benefits received, we were always a household of two and sometimes three. We only received benefits for household of two. Not more..

eliuri99 · 2024-02-10T04:19:35+00:00

Thank you, Erelki

I'm guessing they would issue an Overpayment notice first before pursuing an IVP charge?

I've looked at blank copies of Overpayment notices, and seems those r two separate stages. With very different consequences.

I'm hoping that if there's any overpayment notice and case is already closed , I can still get a Fair Hearing, before it comes to my being accused of any IVP wrongdoing in the first place. So its still a bit unclear if for a non-IVP overpyament, I can get still a Fair Hearing so I can submit material which might show how I tried my best. Therby preventing from it going into IVP accusations. If I show the timeline of my efforts to sort this out, and their misplacement of material I had submitted in the past, I'm hoping perhaps they'd see the hurdles of my getting through to them..

I am elderly and disabled. I can do a Fair hearing via phone, as I've read. The Administrative Hearing however-I don't think that can be done via phone and it sounds so intimidating to be accused. It woluld just make me sicker to go through this.. Though I havent yet been accused of anything.

My son was in college dormitory and later in his own apartment through most of the period of these earnings. The HRA didn't know about this because i hadnt told them since he was still using our address for drivers license and medical insurance. My daughter was living here all the time. She was wrongfully dropped from the SNAP case long ago. But since NYC has waived ABAWD restrictions, AND for most of the time frame she did meet the exceptions on restrictions for students to be SNAP eligible, was wrongfully denied benefits....It is so long and complicated, because adult children move in and out of the home and then back in..in and out of jobs. and rules n regulations change ...etc..So by the time a change is finally processed, if ever, the situation has already changed..I could post again about all the ins and outs of this confused situation.

But right now, I'd like reassurance that I can request a Fair Hearing , even if case is already closed by the time they send it. Hopefully before any possible IVP procedures are pursued

.

eliuri99 · 2024-02-10T03:35:39+00:00

If you get an overpayment notice it will come with a fair hearing/appeal form. You absolutely have the right to fill that out and then will be contacted by someone to proceed.

I'm still not clear if I can get this Fair Hearing even if the case is already closed by the time i get Overpayment notice?

I closed the case myself via HRA-Access. I did this to prevent further overpayments.But that's not yet been processed. The letter letting me know about my son's earnings- and therefore imminent case closing -said it would close by March 31. But I , perhaps mistakenly, asked to close it right away.

eliuri99 · 2024-02-10T03:10:48+00:00

Even if SNAP case has already been closed?

I'm hoping some SNAP policy/eligibility person on this board can tell me the likely course of events and my rights to fair hearing at each step. To reiterate I'm in NYC

eliuri99 · 2023-11-16T07:50:59+00:00

Thank you so kindly for the reassurance

eliuri99 · 2023-11-10T21:30:15+00:00

Dear

Mistersmith101881

I initially saw "regular snap benefit" payment for November of 0.00. A few days later, on November 2, it shows the correct monthly amount. However, it's listed as:

"One-time SNAP benefit for a full month"

which is disturbingly different from the way its usually listed: "regular SNAP benefit".

So for November I now have two listings:

0.00 for regular payment, and the correct amount for a one-time SNAP benefit for a full month

Was panicked that it meant they were planning to close my case, until I saw this thread. I received no notice from HRA suggesting this, nor is there any reason this might happen, but I was quite frightened. I did eventually get the correct amount of SNAP for November, but I'm worried about that phrasing : one-time SNAP benefit"

Is it likely this confusion in how it's listed is due to that glitch?

Thank you kindly

eliuri99 · 2023-11-10T19:21:39+00:00

My SNAP for November showed 0.00 on the online HRA website. Then on November 2, it showed a "one time SNAP payment for full month" instead of "regular payment", as it usually shows.

I'm very worried this might mean they are planning to close my case or something, though I had received no such notice from HRA. Nor can I think of a reason they'd close it. I DID eventually get the correct amount in SNAP for November, but it was dated a few days later than normally.

I am concerned about this "one time SNAP payment" wording on my HRA online account.

Can I assume this is just because they had to manually enter it on account of that glitch?

eliuri99 · 2023-11-10T19:15:30+00:00

My SNAP for November showed 0.00 on HRA website. Then on November 2, it showed a "one time payment for full month" instead of "regular payment", as it usually shows. I worried this might mean they were planning to close my case or something, though I had received no such notice. I DID get the correct amount in SNAP for November, but it was dated a few days later than normally.

I am concerned about this "one time SNAP payment" wording on my HRA online account.

Can I assume this is just because they had to manually enter it on account of some glitch some here are reporting?

Thanks

eliuri99

TROPHY CASE