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Update on Economic Impact Payments

May 14, 2020

The Social Security Administration recently issues some updates on the schedule of the much sought-after Economic Impact Payments that have begun to be issued around the country. These updates concern recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security...

Maryland Food Stamp Recipients Receiving Increased Allotments

Apr 30, 2020

Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) has joined other agencies both federal and state in responding positively to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this case it has increased its funding of the officially titled Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but...

Maryland Unemployment Insurance –

Apr 28, 2020

On April 24th the Maryland Department of Labor launched it's new BEACON one-stop application for Marylanders to file claims for all benefit types including the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. This enabled those who are self-employed, independent...

CMS Announces Changes to Medicare During COVID-19

Apr 16, 2020

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic by adapting some of its regulations regarding Medicare services so as to counter a number of the issues that we are all undergoing at the present time. As we are now severely...

Update – Supplemental Security Income Recipients Will Receive Automatic Economic Impact Payments

Apr 16, 2020

Supplemental Security Income Recipients Will Receive Automatic COVID-19 Economic Impact Payments 04/15/2020 04:01 PM EDT Today, we announced that Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients will receive automatic Economic Impact Payments directly from the Treasury...

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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...