Latest News
United Airlines Disability Complaints Treble In January 2014
Disability related complaints filed against United Airlines in January 2014 trebled compared to the same period of 2013, the latest DOT consumer report shows. The air travel consumer report of January 2014 paints a bleak picture on how airlines are assisting passengers with…
Cost of hearing aids can be daunting–Insurance plans pay ‘diddly-squat,’ Medicare even less
David Decker had all the signs. He often missed things that actors said on TV. Hearing in crowds was a challenge. And when he came home each day from work in a noisy data center, where cooling fans whirred nonstop, his…
Retirement Planner: Get the ball rolling early for retirement years
I remember an old cartoon in The New Yorker: An older middle-aged man sitting in his armchair is saying to his spouse, “You wish we were rich? You should have mentioned that to me 40 years ago.” The point, of…
Fighting for better Medicare mental health coverage
A group of psychologists from Nebraska visited Washington, D.C. last week to address the administrative and legislative barriers preventing Medicare recipients from obtaining the mental and behavioral health care they need. “I’ve been working on this for four years,” said Anne…
St. Louis Nonprofit Highlights New Disability Employment Rule
Disability rights advocates in St. Louis are highlighting new federal rules that aim to open more job opportunities to those with disabilities. Starting Monday, federal contractors are required to work toward a goal of 7% disabled employees in their workforce. The…
Indiana State’s Blumberg Center continues important role in disability awareness organization
What began as a month-long partnership to coordinate events for Indiana Disability Awareness Month in March continues four years later through the Disabilities Awareness Work Group. The organization’s nearly 50 service agencies and private individuals continue to be effective in providing…
Is This Popular Social Security Benefit Going Away?
I am a Viet Nam Vet, turning 65 this September. Recently, I was at the VA and someone told me that if I use the VA for my Medicare benefits that I cannot enroll in Medicare. I’ve also been told…
Rep. McCarthy Joins Colleagues to Urge Action on Unemployment Insurance
Earlier this week, Congresswoman McCarthy joined colleagues in signing a discharge petition to bring up H.R. 3546, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act. The discharge petition would force an up-or-down vote that would extend unemployment insurance for more than 2 million…
Congress Confronts Medicare Cuts to Doctors’ Fees
Hope is fading for a Capitol Hill drive to permanently fix Medicare’s outdated payment formula and spare doctors from automatic cuts in their fees next month. Now the question is whether lawmakers can regroup and come up with a short-term…
Medicare Is Nickel-and-Diming Patients for Every Trivial Procedure
Before the government started charging us for Medicare, my doctor treated me for the flu, sutured a laceration I did to myself with a box cutter, delivered my brother and any other malady that his patients needed to be treated…