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SSA’s Promoting Opportunities Demonstration (POD) – Have You Heard?

Nov 29, 2017

The Social Security Administration launched a new demonstration project known as the Promoting Opportunities Demonstration or POD with beneficiary enrollments beginning November, 2017. SSA will be implementing POD in select counties throughout the state of Maryland;...

Update on Maryland ABLE!

Nov 20, 2017

Just last week the Maryland Benefits Counseling Network posted information about the Achieving Better Life Experience or ABLE program - what it is, how it can help eligible individuals save money without impacting Medicaid and/or SSI benefits, and how to participate...

Social Security Resource Limit – Get Around It If You’re ABLE

Nov 13, 2017

#ABLEtoSave If you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits you are hopefully already aware that Social Security limits the amount of resources you can have in order to remain eligible for SSI benefits - $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for an eligible...

Wage Reporting Options for SSI Recipients

Nov 7, 2017

Reporting wages to Social Security in a timely manner is SO IMPORTANT for recipients of Supplemental Security Income or SSI benefits! Timely reporting is the best way to help prevent frustrating and costly benefit overpayments from occurring. Did you know there are...

2018 COLA Adjustments

Oct 30, 2017

2018 Brings Changes to Benefit and Work Incentive Amounts! The Social Security Administration has announced important cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for 2018. Social Security and SSI beneficiaries will see a 2.0 percent increase to benefit amounts effective...

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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...