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Maryland Employment Network Is Hiring!

Apr 8, 2021

We're happy to announce that our colleagues at the Maryland Employment Network are looking for a bright and energetic individual to join their team as a full time Employment Specialist. The ideal candidate must have: Extensive experience and success in providing...

SSA Resumes Hearing Request Dismissal Policy

Apr 2, 2021

Early in March Social Security made it be known that they would once again allow hearing requests to be dismissed out of hand if the claim is not made in a timely manner or if the claimant fails to appear for the scheduled hearing. This decision reverses the temporary...

BPQYs Lose IRS Records of Yearly Earnings

Mar 26, 2021

A significant change has been made to the Benefits Planning Query (BPQY) with the deletion of the 'IRS Recorded Earnings (Yearly)' section. The change has been caused by a new regulation that mandates that a fee must be charged to gain the IRS information. In an act...

Still Waiting on Your Stimulus Checks? Consider the Rebate Recovery Credit

Mar 19, 2021

The IRS have issued the second wave of stimulus checks, officially known as Economic Impact Payments (EIP), and are in the process of delivering a third in the amount of up to $1,400 to eligible individuals and families. If you feel you've missed out or didn't...

Social Security Seeking to ‘Slam the Scam’

Mar 3, 2021

As part of National Consumer Protection Week the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration, Gail Ennis, has announced the second annual 'Slam the Scam' day, which is set for March 4. Whilst there's likely to be an absence of cake or fireworks to...

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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...

Uncivil Service: OBBBA and Medicaid Work Requirements

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that was recently signed into law by the current incumbent in the White House has within its hundreds of provisions a number of cuts to Medicaid funding under the pretext that there’s vast and widespread fraud and cheating going...