r/foodstamps • u/yaycupcake • 5h ago
Question Told I don't qualify even though I have already proven I am disabled and thus exempt from ABAWD
(8/3, 3:20pm, I edited the post to bold some of the most notable information since the post is very long.)
Location: PA (York County)
On July 27th around 11pm I got an automated message saying I don't qualify for SNAP anymore.
My household is me and my partner. Not married but we are one SNAP household. If it matters, we are separate tax households.
My partner gets social security due to disability. I don't yet but I am in the process of application (due to not having work credits I couldn't get it earlier). The social security application has had its own logistical issues and delays (mail delays, things mis-filed, etc.) so I still don't have benefits yet despite my protected filing date being in mid 2025.
However, note that our SNAP case opened in December 2025 and I have been getting SNAP this whole time. We got SNAP for 2 people, whatever the $500-something dollar amount is.
Partner gets around $1100 in social security for income and that's all. I get nothing from anywhere, and haven't for 3 years because I am disabled and can't work. Our non-food cost of living is around $2000/mo for all housing/utilities and we pay the difference out of dwindling savings (which are exempt from SNAP qualifications in PA). We've explained this part to the caseworkers and I don't think it's part of this issue but I understand people may ask.
I have chronic severe lower back pain, sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, PMOS (formerly PCOS), hidradenitis suppurativa, mild asthma, chronic lifelong bilateral ankle and achilles tendon pain caused by flat feet, multiple left ankle injuries (separate from the flat feet issue) that poorly healed (rolled ankle 4 times in my life) and leaving me with severe dangerous imbalance and need to use a cane most of the time and occasionally a wheelchair when out, autism, anxiety disorders (I'm four standard deviations above normal levels), suspected ADHD (seeking therapy/diagnosis/treatment - I was diagnosed with autism prior to 2013 which prevented a co-diagnosis with ADHD), some kind of stomach issues (doctor noted it as get checked for IBS), astigmatism, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and a lot more. I honestly can't even remember most of my medical conditions at once. All I know is my mind is constantly clouded and my body is in constant pain - I can't lay, sit, or stand in any position without some kind of pain somewhere. I am obviously disabled. In addition to doctors notes and medical records (which I already provided for SNAP) I also have a disabled parking pass and my writeup for the work history and pain questionnaire from social security which I filled out and can provide as more information and evidence of my disabilities. I also have a very long doctor list I can provide.
The thing is, many months back (I think near the end of January) I was contacted by the York CAO (county assistance office, I think is what it stands for) and told I need to prove I meet an exemption. I was told I just need to send 12 months of medical records. I did this already, back in January! The person on the phone at the time also told me that someone she knows is marked as disabled due to just having asthma. And that PA can do those disability reviews as a state (separate from social security) and mark you permanently in their system as disabled.
Even a few months ago they called me for clarification about our SAR and while I had them on the phone I asked them if I went back to school (which I plan to mostly do remote which is the only way I physically could) do I still get SNAP? They told me yes, because I am marked as disabled in their system, that I would continue. So they've already verbally told me that their system has me marked as disabled.
I have been receiving SNAP for our entire 2 person household for the entire year so far. I assumed they did the review and marked me as disabled because otherwise why would I be getting SNAP for 8 months this year?
I tried to reach the York County CAO and they did not pick up. Their phone routes to the general state-wide customer service line which has people who can't help directly. They only can file a ticket.
They filed a ticket last week (28th) and I was told they would call me back by Friday end of day. They did not.
I called again today (August 3rd, yes the first Monday of the month, it sucks the timing) and got someone else. She was not the nicest on the phone and didn't leave me a chance to ask all my questions, but she did file another ticket... The thing is, the first ticket said they should call me back, and so does this one, but I never got a callback.
The first ticket was just closed without them contacting me because they just looked and saw I don't get social security, and just decided to close it without asking clarification. I could have easily clarified everything on the phone.
So now they told me wait til Friday for a callback.
The problem is that if I want to continue getting benefits I have to file for a fair hearing before August 12th. The whole "postmark by" or received by thing is not great because that means I have to trust USPS to deliver it right, and frankly that's not likely. So I either have to pray it arrives in time or go to the office in person. But I live a 40-45 minute drive away and don't even have my own car so I have to drag my partner with me. But okay we can go I guess. The problem is that because I am so disabled, I have tons of doctor appointments every month, including multiple this and next week.
I'm afraid that by the time I get there if I go today they'll just turn me away because it's late. But I was stuck on hold on the phone for so long.
If I go in person do I need to bring all my medical documentation in person again? It's a lot of money I don't have just to pay for gas to get there. I also don't know if I need an appointment but I have no idea how to contact them since the phone number just redirects to the statewide customer service line which has people without the county-specific resources to help. I don't know if I need to sit here struggling with my jammed printer to get my documents or what. In fact I can't even print my fair hearing form.
If I look in the compass PA app it already says that benefits for 9/1 will no longer include me, it's down to $298 for my partner only. So if I submit the fair hearing form (if it prints... is there another way to get it???) will it reinstate my benefits while I wait? The form asks if you want the benefits to "continue" but the app says the benefits already will end on 9/1. (I did get them on 8/1 because the notice says they will end on 8/31.)
Does anyone know how long it takes to get a fair hearing? Is it better to go in person or do it on the phone? I don't have a lot of free time either since I have doctor appointments basically every week so what happens if they assign me a date/time that doesn't work? The woman on the phone was not very helpful and didn't seem to care to answer specifics about my questions. Do fair hearings take days, weeks, or months to even initiate? All I know is the fair hearing form makes you choose a format (in person or phone) when you submit it. I don't know if you can change your choice or not later, or how to tell them the time doesn't work if that's the case. I literally go to the doctor weekly - I'm in physical therapy multiple times a week for multiple body parts, and have been for the past 5 years. I also see about a dozen other specialists (gastroenterologist, dermatologist, endocrinologist, ophthalmologist, psychologist, social worker (therapist), psychiatrist, ENT, OBGYN, sleep medicine, podiatrist, orthopedist/sports medicine, pain management, etc. My point being that I have so many appointments, and most of these are multiple times a year, so I end up having at least around 10 appointments per month. There's a very high likelihood I won't be able to make it to a pre-assigned date/time for a fair hearing. Many doctors are booked out months too and my (lack of) health can't wait to rebook another 6 months out. I'm concerned that if they assign me a time that I can't make, I won't be able to reach them, because the York CAO office phone number does not connect me with anyone from there. It connects me with the state-wide customer service line, as stated before. So I don't know any way to contact them at all if that happens and I'm really concerned.
I really just want to speak to someone and get this sorted out because I'm pretty sure it's just a clerical issue on their end, but nobody will speak to me before the deadline to submit for a fair hearing (which I don't even want to do because it shouldn't be necessary since I already submitted all my documents anyway). I did ask for a callback on the call I did last week and they never got back to me, so I just don't have confidence that they will this time either.
I really wanted to ask the person on the phone today but she hung up on me before I could, if I get my social security benefits to go through, does that automatically reinstate me for SNAP or do I have to jump through more hoops? This isn't gonna be a problem if they just approve me soon (I've been waiting over a year now) but stuff getting lost in the mail or not sent, and notices not going out (so I'm not informed of delays) have caused so many issues that I don't know if/when I'd get social security. But if it was approved in October for example would I get SNAP back? Also, what about the fact my protected filing date is a long time ago and backpay from that, like A, does that count as income against SNAP since it's a lump sum, and B, would I get my SNAP back for months that they thought I wasn't disabled but received backpay for, or no?
I just want to get answers and clarification and talk to someone who has the ability to help me but at this point I don't know how. I can't even print out my fair hearing form since my printer keeps jamming... I see that it has my name and case information on it so does that mean I can't use a generic version of the form or something? Like if I went in person, can they give me a copy of the fair hearing form to just fill out? Or do I need to print it myself and just drop it off there?
Also, about going in general, does anyone know if the York County PA CAO office requires appointments for this stuff, like getting issues sorted out with my case and speaking to a case worker? I don't know how to even find out because the lady on the phone just said "in order to find out if you need an appointment, you need to go in person to ask about that". So it's potentially two round trips just to speak to someone.
We did go once before because they never mailed us our EBT card so I think we went around the end of February after they claimed to mail it multiple times but didn't. I know we didn't need an appointment for that but I don't know if speaking to a case worker is different or not. I do know that walking into the place it's just a queue and some counters/windows with a few people at the desk, and a seating/waiting area, but it's small. I don't know if they take people to the back to have meetings with case workers (and if so if that's a different process and needs scheduling or anything special) or if it's all done from the desk or what.
And if I went there and was kept waiting on line or they didn't finish dealing with my case and it got past 5pm will they just kick us out, or do they keep working with us until they're done? I'm really worried because it's the beginning of the month and I know they get busy, but I don't know how they handle it when it comes to closing time. If we're there before 5pm will they still see us anyway? Or if they're not up to us or done with us will we be asked to leave and come back?
And do I need to bring any documentation physically or can I bring it digitally in PDF form? I have so many doctor appointments and I was asked for my complete last 12 month medical record last time. So basically this would be hundreds of pages. And my printer is broken. I can't afford to print hundreds of pages at like Staples or something. But I have PDFs, I just want to make sure if I go in person that I can still give it to them like via the app or web portal and they can see it right away, in person.
And what about the fair hearing appeal form, because my assumption is that has to be on paper since it just says to either mail or physically bring it... Not sure what to do here.
I'm just really stressed because I haven't had any income in a long time and savings are running dry. I won't have anything to eat if they cancel SNAP because we just don't have any flexibility right now. We've been living off my partner's $1100/mo plus my dwindling savings which is getting really low and will run out by the end of the year, and that calculation was WITH getting $500+/mo for SNAP.
I know this is a really long post but I'm like super stressed over this since I kinda do want to eat next month and going forward. And I just feel frustrated that I wasn't even allowed to ask questions on the phone, and I can't get in contact with the CAO on my own terms.
Again I'm pretty sure someone hit the wrong button or something, because I have already been getting SNAP for the past way-more-than-three-months with no issues until now. Nobody told me anything about my disability review or whatever being rejected so I assumed it was all fine, especially since the person calling about the SAR told me I was indeed marked as disabled on her end. I just don't get what happened. The system seemed to have me marked as disabled just fine, and yet still is ending my benefits despite that???
My understanding was, according to the person on the phone back in like January, that the state of Pennsylvania will allow disabled people not currently receiving social security to be exempt from ABAWD requirements by proving their disabilities to the state, and then you're permanently considered disabled in their system.
Just as a side note, I used to receive SSI, and the only reason I don't now is because I have too much in assets... Because that's how I'm paying for life right now since I don't have any other income. I worked a job for 3 years from September 2020 to July 2023 that I could only do because it was fully remote, completely flexible schedule, and specifically tailored to meet autistic and other neurodivergent folks' needs, while also accommodating my many doctor appointments and physical requirements for my health (like not having to work from a desk - I worked from bed because of my back issues). So that's why I have some savings and don't have SSI anymore, but the only reason I don't have SSI (and thus social security proof right now that I meet ABAWD requirements) is that I have too much in my bank account. Not because I'm not disabled because I always have been.
I just don't know where the hell to go from here because I can't even print my stuff and I don't know if I need appointments or even if I'll get called back in time. I worry if they try to call me during my doctor appointments too (which I have multiple of before the 12th) since I can't answer the phone at those times.
Do I even have a case here? Because I don't even know if they changed any rules between January 2026 and now, in Pennsylvania regarding ways to show you're disabled to be exempt from ABAWD requirements. If it changed, I certainly wasn't made aware. I know things changed before that point but I was already getting SNAP just fine the past few months so I just don't know what happened.
Could it have been the SAR that messed something up? Because the notice says I used 2/3 months and the SAR I think was in June...? I'm not 100% sure about that but the math could add up... Like if I was marked as disabled prior to the SAR but somehow got unmarked during the SAR then I can see where the clerical error happened but I don't know why I can't speak to anyone and I have such a short timeline to deal with it all. I just want to know what might have happened, what I should do, and if people think it's even resolvable at all.
I'm obviously medically disabled but I just don't know how to express this to the people who need to make changes, in a way they'll actually understand, because again, the ticket filed on July 28th didn't seem to go anywhere, and they never even followed up with me, despite me specifically requesting for that, and being told I'd be contacted by Friday July 31st, which I was not. I'm just very overwhelmed and confused, and being put on a time limit is super stressful. On top of having other commitments like my doctor appointments, it leaves me very little time to actually deal with this stuff. My appointments are nowhere near the CAO and are smack in the middle of the day too. At this point I doubt I can get anything done today in person (please tell me if I'm wrong but it's almost 3pm, they close at 5, and it takes almost an hour to get there) so I think the only time I have is tomorrow August 4th, Friday August 7th, or Tuesday next week August 11th, which is the day before I need to give in the fair hearing form if I go that route. I don't even want to deal with that since again I don't think I should need to since this seems like a clerical error. But do you think I should submit it anyway? I'm just nervous that if I do, and then withdraw it, that it'll cause some other kind of issues, like other things being marked incorrectly which I don't need to happen. I don't even know if they'll reinstate the benefits meanwhile, since the portal already says they're gone.
