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Baby Steps: Undocumented Pregnant Marylanders Now Eligible for Medicaid

Aug 4, 2023

Effective as of July 1 this year the Healthy Babies Equity Act mandates that anyone who is a resident of Maryland and who is pregnant can qualify for Medicaid no matter their immigration status. Before July any non-citizen without legal status here would have had to...

Rest Assured: IRS Ends Unscheduled Visits

Jul 27, 2023

In a piece of news that will come as relief to taxpayers and anyone who’s wary of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the agency has announced that its long serving policy of turning up unannounced to collect on unpaid taxes has ended with immediate effect. From now...

Listen Here: SSA Launches Audio Series

Jul 13, 2023

In this month’s Social Security updates page the agency announced the launch of a new service that they hope will deliver information pertinent to its customers. SSA Talks is planned to be an audio series that will provide news and discussion on all things Social...

Service Related: Augmented Veterans Benefits and SSI

Jul 7, 2023

The Veterans Administration (VA) factors in the existence of dependents for veterans or their surviving spouses who are receiving a pension, compensation, or educational benefits and, if the circumstances allow, will increase the amount of the benefits for the...

Open to Interpretation: SSA’s Assistance for Limited English Proficiency Clients

Jun 23, 2023

Social Security has long understood that effective communication is the sine qua non of their organization and has therefore endeavored to ensure that they provide clear information to as much of the population as it possibly can. The agency reports that they have...

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Health Check: Changes to Medicaid in Maryland

The new year is an obvious time to make changes if that’s what you’re going to do and it might seem that if things are going to be different for Medicaid beneficiaries now would be the time to learn what’s new. Oddly enough, even though there are changes afoot,...

What’s New? Update on 2026 Benefits Changes

Now that we have to admit that the holidays are truly over and we're embedded in the new year, for better or for worse, it's worth having a quick look over the new annual figures that will affect those of us who receive federal benefits. By now everyone who receives...

Happy Holidays from MDBCN to You!

Another year comes to another close and although we can hardly look back on 12 months of love, peace, and harmony we can always hope for that in the future. Whatever may come to pass, we at the Maryland Benefits Counseling Network will continue to endeavor to keep you...

Getting Better: ABLE Changes for 2026

Back in 2022 Congress passed a bill that is about to go into effect. The ABLE Age Adjustment Act decreed that as of January 2026 the age threshold for Achieving Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts would increase from 26 to 46. The ABLE Act has been around for more...

A Bitter Pill: Medicare Costs in 2026

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the 2026 premium and deductible figures. It’s a familiar story, as those costs are up again. The standard Medicare Part B premium will raise eyebrows and blood pressure as it increases by $17.90 a...

From the Horse’s Mouth: SSA Commissioner Delivers 2025 Fiscal Report

Gues what? It’s all good. On November 20 Frank Bisignano, Social Security’s Commissioner, published his letter to Congress detailing the agency’s achievements in 2025. The letter, which you can read in full here (Commissioner Letter to Congress: Year in Review) begins...

SNAP’s Back: Federal Food Stamp Payments to Resume

After the longest shutdown in its 249-year history the US government officially re-opened on Wednesday when its president signed a bill allowing funding until January 30 next year. While this would certainly appear to be only a temporary easing of the situation it...

Forking Out: SNAP Updates and Maryland’s Response

It is now widely known that it is forty-two million Americans who receive SNAP benefits, still also known as food stamps. They remain at the mercy of a government, which has remained shut down for thirty-seven days at the time of writing, and shows no sign of opening...

SSA Announces 2026 COLAs

2026’s Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) was recently published and there are some limited but welcome increases across the board. Benefits are due to go up 2.8%. In terms of how that looks to SSI recipients, it means that the Federal Benefit Rate (FBR) will rise to...

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...