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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...

A Mixed Review: News on ABLE Accounts

Jan 13, 2023

There’s been a recent development in who can set up and use an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account. Since the ABLE Act was passed and signed into being in 2014 by President Obama it has allowed individuals with disabilities to set up tax-free savings...

Your Turn: What Do You Want to Discuss in 2023?

Jan 9, 2023

As we start another trip around the sun, we’ll keep the updates coming as they arrive but all the while we’d like to look to you to give us any suggestions on what you’d like to know more about, or to ask us any benefits-related questions that we haven’t yet...

Looking Forward to ’23: Reminder of the New Facts and Figures

Jan 1, 2023

Another year in the books and off we go again! As we wish you all the very best of luck and happiness in 2023 here's a quick look once more at some of the pertinent figures that we'll need to be aware of in the coming months. Maryland's minimum wage continues its...

Happy Holidays from MDBCN!

Dec 23, 2022

How did we get here again, and so quickly too? Another year has raced by and has served us up, to different degrees and with new variations, the quotidian grind interlaced with despair, sorrow, hope and even, perhaps, moments of genuine joy. We hope that 2022 was, on...

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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...

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...