My husband and I adopted our 3 grandchildren several years ago. I am on social security and so is my husband. He has continued to work because our youngest grandson has seizures and needs medication. He will soon be 18. My husband wants to quit his job but is unsure if our grandson will be able to get any health insurance that will pay for his medication.

Hi,

Adopted grandchildren can potentially qualify for Social Security child benefits, so hopefully you've already filed for benefits on their behalf if they are under age 18. Child benefits can also continue after age 18 if the child is still in high school or disabled, and in the case of a disabled child Medicare coverage can start as early as age 20. So, it sounds like may want to look into filing for disabled adult child's benefits on behalf of the child who is about to reach age 18 to see if he qualifies.

Social Security also administers a needs based program called Supplemental Security Income (SSI), so you may want to see if your disabled child could qualify for that program. There is a link to an SSI screening tool on Social Security's website: https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/. People who qualify for SSI also generally meet the requirements for Medicaid coverage.

I should point out that there may be other possible sources of health care coverage for your son, such as the ACA marketplace, but I am not an expert on any programs other than Social Security.

Best, Jerry