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Food Stamp Recipients, Advocates Sue Over Work Requirements
Most Americans agree that able-bodied adults should be required to do some type of work to receive welfare assistance. But two nonprofit groups and a handful of food stamp recipients in New Mexico are suing the state for trying to encourage just that. Last Friday,…
‘Tis The Season to be Vigilant While Signing up For Health Care
It’s open season for everyone who wants to switch health coverage. As you select your health insurance plan, watch out for scams. Whether you are on Medicare, selecting a plan through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or have private insurance,…
Health care shoppers, beware of scams
It’s open enrollment season for those shopping for new health insurance plans, and that makes it open season for scams. Whether you’re shopping on a government exchange for a plan under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), getting Medicare or looking…
Turmoil in Medicare Advantage hits NC seniors hard
North Carolina senior citizens who choose private Medicare policies are seeing an unusual level of turmoil this year, with more than 57,000 notified their plans won’t be offered in 2015 and others seeing rates more than triple. The upheaval involves…
How Social Security raise impacts retirees
Social Security recipients will get a 1.7% cost-of-living adjustment starting in January, according to the Social Security Administration. For the average retired person receiving Social Security, monthly payments will rise $22 to $1,328 from $1,306. The average couple’s benefits will rise…
Will My Doctor Be At My Social Security Disability Appeals Hearing?
It is highly unlikely that your treating physician will attend your Social Security disability hearing. Unless your doctor is a personal friend you can convince to attend your hearing, your doctor in almost all cases will not be there First,…
Medicare policy changes rattle those who depend on communication devices
For the better part of a year, people who have speech impairment or loss feared that a sudden, and painfully literal, reinterpretation of Medicare policy would diminish their abilities to communicate. Their advocates and the makers of communications devices also…
Disability system for veterans strays far from its official purpose
Illinois Representative Tammy Duckworth, an Army veteran who lost both legs in IRAQ, at a Washington oversight hearing, noted: “You, who never picked up a weapon in defense of this great nation, very cynically took advantage of the system,” she…
How to build wealth in small investments
The reaction of a lot of retirees to the recent news that their Social Security checks will rise next year by an average of $20 per month amounted to “Thanks for nothing.” The question is whether they can turn that…
Disability is less a barrier to the arts than attitude is
CATA, based in Great Barrington, Mass., is one of a growing number of organizations across the country that enable people with disabilities to participate in the enrichment and cultural conversations that the arts offer. Almost 25 years after the passage…