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2024 Medicare Premiums and Deductibles Are Out!

Nov 8, 2023

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published the 2024 Medicare premium and deductible costs. In a disappointing reversal of last year's drop in costs, there's a $9.80 increase in the standard part B premium, which will send it bouncing...

QR Barging: SSA’s New Mobile Check-In Express

Oct 27, 2023

In another move to seemingly keep with the times Social Security has introduced a new Mobile Check-in Express feature. The set- up purports to ease the check in process for anyone visiting an SSA office, although it remains unclear to this reader of the promotional...

Shifting Gear: Maryland’s Durable Medical Equipment Re-use Program

Oct 20, 2023

One of the ways the Maryland Department of Aging has been working to provide assistance to Marylanders with disabilities is the, perhaps under-advertised, Durable Medical Equipment Re-use (DME) program. As the name suggests, it is looking to help local residents...

SSA 2024 COLA Figures Are Out!

Oct 12, 2023

2024's Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) has been published as planned. As many had predicted, compared to last year’s staggering 8.7% increase, it’s a rather more modest 3.2%. In terms of how that looks to SSI recipients, it means that the Federal Benefit Rate (FBR)...

Speculation Mounts on 2024 COLA Increase

Oct 5, 2023

It’s nearly that time again when the Social Security Administration reveals the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Social Security and SSI beneficiaries. In fact, as the government shutdown was postponed for a little while at least, we’re just a week away now from...

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SSA Reveals Service Plan during the Federal Government Shutdown

Social Security has issued a statement on its Advocates webpage highlighting the level of its availability during the government shutdown which went into effect today, October 1. Crucially, all SSI and SSDI payments will continue without change and on the same payment...

Oscillate Wildly: Changes to SSDI Overpayment Recovery Rates

It may have escaped your attention, as it did this writer’s, that on August 29 this year Social Security issued Emergency Message 25029 REV. Emergency Messages are the agency’s method of notifying every office of the new protocols to follow. This one’s purpose is to...

Tapping In: Maryland’s Assistive Technology Financial Loan Program

To judge from the figures presented in the 2024 review of Maryland Department of Disabilities’ Technical Assistance Program (MDTAP) there’s not much knowledge within the state of the program itself or any of its projects. MDTAP has provided the Assistive Technology...

Listen Up: Maryland DDA’s Low Intensity Support Services Program Accepting Applications

Maryland’s Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) has long understood the need to provide funding to children and adults in the community in order that they might lead happier and more fully integrated lives in the community. What was once called Rolling...

Social Security Turns 90!

To commemorate this landmark birthday, we've re-published the open letter from Frank Bisignano, the agency's current commissioner. Today, we celebrate the 90th anniversary of Social Security—a program that has stood as a pillarof economic security and dignity for...

Healthy Options? USDA Encouraging SNAP Food Restrictions

In further changes under the new administration (remarkably, it has only been seven months) the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services are now actively seeking states to implement further restrictions on what you can buy with food...

As You Were: VCU’s National Training and Data Center Re-opens

Last week we reported that Virginia Commonwealth’s NTDC has been closed and all services terminated. This week Social Security announced that the center is open once more. Melanie Webb, the Branch Chief of SSA’s Employment Programs, sent out an n email to the nation’s...

VCU’s National Training and Data Center Closed Down

Benefits Counselors around the country received the news today that Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) was forced to close the National Training and Data Center (NTDC) on July 29. The brief announcement from Melanie Webb, Branch Chief of Employment Programs at...

Salt in the Wound: OBBBA and Cuts to Medicaid for Non- Citizens

Further to our recent blog on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and its plan to cut Medicaid funding, here’s some more bad news brought to you by your government. This time the target is Non-Citizens. At present there are some severe limitations to eligibility...

Stopped Check: SSA to Eliminate Paper Payments to Beneficiaries

These days if you are to order a new batch of checks you are given a choice of designs for the background and can even select a personal message line. You may notice, however, that the choices appear to skew towards appealing to an older demographic. One recent option...