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Burning Issue: PACT Act Increases Benefits to Veterans

Aug 11, 2023

A new law that comes under the full title of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act is now in place and certain Veterans should now apply. The PACT Act seeks to increase compensation and expand health...

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...

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Won’t Get Food Again: SNAP Eligibility in Decline

Recent articles in The Atlantic and by NPR have highlighted the growing concern in the reduction in the number of food stamp beneficiaries over the past year. The current figure, as estimated by the Department of Agriculture, stands at around 37 million recipients,...

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...