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Closing Time: SNAP Emergency Allotments Ended

Mar 3, 2023

There's going to have to be further belt-tightening for many Maryland residents as the Consolidated Appropriations Act recently passed by Congress has brought about the end of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Emergency Allotment. The...

Plan Ahead: America Saves Week 2023 Coming Soon

Feb 24, 2023

This Monday, February 27, will see the start of a week-long 'celebration and call to action for everyday Americans to commit to saving successfully,' or so says the official America Saves Week website. The non-profit organization, America Saves, has been running the...

EID Expansion Denied by CMS

Feb 17, 2023

It has been reported that the expansion of eligibility for the Employed Individuals with Disabilities (EID) program which was proposed in May 2022 and came into effect later in the year has now been quashed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)....

What’s In a Number? 1619(b) in 2023

Jan 27, 2023

The somewhat lesser broadcast Section 1619(d) of the Social Security Act winds its way through the statement that "(t)he Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Education shall jointly develop and disseminate information, and establish training programs...

2023 Federal Poverty Levels Released

Jan 20, 2023

The Department of Health and Human Services has just published the new Federal Poverty Levels (FPL). As might be expected by the name, the basic 100% poverty level is low and comes in at annual income for a household of one of $14,580. Broken down to a monthly amount...

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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...