You would still qualify through qmb for Medicare premium payments (I'm jealous, I don't). The quide lines are federal set, you can earn about $1330+ combined, and you can deduct taxes from the gross income. Charity care pays your out of pocket costs, as long as you have your prescriptions filled at a medical facility that does charity care.
Turn that hard work into finding the programs that work, and you can do this. It's fear that keeps people locked in patterns, and you can break this by finding a public institution in your state. Non profit hospitals are required to offer charity care.
If you lose Medicaid, you will have a spend down, and they will charge Medicaid before the charity care. They do this in 6 month increments. If you're getting that much care, you should quickly qualify (but you can only have $2k in savings).
As you can see, I know my way around. Time for you to put that past work ethic to use, and find your way around. You will feel better. I was afraid of losing benefits too, but part time work (even though I had to pay my medical bills, or some of them), was the best thing I did.
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