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Reader Request: MDBCN Wants to Know What You Want to Know

Undeterred by the modest response to last year’s request for feedback and suggestions we once again ask you, valued and worthy reader, what you would like to know more about. If you have any topics that you think might deserve a spotlight shone on them, whether they...

1619(b) Threshold Amounts for 2024 Are In!

Continued Medicaid Eligibility under Section 1619(b) of the Social Security Act is the crucial work incentive that allows those on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to continue to remain eligible for Medical Assistance even if their earned income has caused their SSI...

2024 Poverty Guidelines Released

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently published the Federal Poverty Levels (FPL) for this year. There’s a slight increase, as would be expected. To be on the very verge of poverty (100% of FPL) as the federal government has determined, an...

Pay Hike: Maryland Minimum Wage Increases in 2024

While the Federal Minimum Wage languishes forlornly at base camp, clinging to the feeble figure of $7.25 an hour, the noble Maryland Minimum Wage has been making a steady ascent over the past decade or so and has now reached its targeted peak. From January 1 this year...

Happy Holidays from MDBCN!

Below is an illustration of the fact that tastes may change but some sentiments remain the same. This mouse and lobster combination was a genuine Christmas card from the 1880s when the concept of the card was yet inchoate. There’s no current understanding now why the...

Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Social Security Adds New Features to MySSA Accounts

A recent press release from Social Security looked to encourage applicants who have found themselves having to appeal a denial to use a My Social Security account when working through that process. Evidently very keen on getting you on board, the agency has produced a...

Summer Break: Maryland’s SUN Bucks Program

Originally launched by Governor Wes Brown back in 2024 Maryland’s Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program, which trades under the SUN Bucks title, is back for another year. SUN Bucks is the state’s provision to allow eligible families with children aged between 5...

Food Security: New EBT Cards Coming Soon!

Maryland’s Department of Human Resources announced last week that they would be rolling out new Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards as part of a modernization plan designed to ward off food stamp thievery. The new cards will have the same capabilities as regular...

No Going Back: Medicaid Retroactive Eligibility Span Reduced

The Budget Reconciliation Act of 2025 has provided this blog with a seemingly ceaseless font of bad news stories. Here’s another one. Currently someone applying for Medicaid can get retroactive coverage for up to three months prior to the date of application as long...

Working It Out: SNAP Eligibility Changes and Maryland’s Response

The current administration’s legislation on changes to work requirements for SNAP recipients are now in force and beneficiaries are feeling the effects. H.R.1’s new rules require non-exempt adults aged between 18 and 64 to show proof of employment, volunteering or job...

Centralized Planning: SSA Announces Administrative Changes to Disability Reviews

In a press release from last week Social Security made it known that they are in the process of transitioning how Continuing Disability Reviews (CDR) will be conducted. If you receive SSDI or SSI you’ll probably be aware that, unless you have a Ticket to Work in use...

Spread the Word: Social Security Promotes ‘Slam the Scam’ 2026

National Consumer Protection week, which has been sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission since 1998, is soon to be upon us. It runs from March 1 to 7 and is designed to spread awareness and provide information to us, the consumers, on how to best safeguard our own...

Cold Comfort: The Scope of Maryland Energy Assistance Programs

The recent cold snap has brought with its rock-heavy snow and breathtakingly icy winds the reminder of how lucky the majority of us are to have warm homes in which we can hide away until the temperatures rise again. Of course, not all of us can rely on such comforts,...

SNAP Tackles Pop: States Ban Food Stamp Purchases of Soda and Candy

There have always been restrictions on what you can buy with food stamps, now dubbed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP (a godsend to sub-editors everywhere). The simple, if perhaps occasionally dubious, pleasures that alcoholic beverages provide...

2026’s 1619(b) Thresholds Are Out!

Unlike many annual changes in the benefits world, which are announced on a fairly rigid schedule, recent history has shown that we can never quite be sure when the new thresholds for 1619(b) are going to be announced. Fortunately, this year there hasn’t been much of a...