More state Medicaid agencies are shifting to or considering managed care models to provide long-term care services, sparking a growing backlash from disability and elder rights advocates. Traditionally, state Medicaid agencies paid individual health care providers on a fee-for-service basis. This model has long been criticized as cost-inefficient because it gives providers an incentive to order unnecessary treatments. The…
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal program that helps people with disabilities and very low incomes pay for food, clothing and shelter. SSI is often confused with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). One of the main differences between the two programs is that SSDI is available to people with disabilities no matter how much…
Do you become frustrated and overwhelmed when managing medical bills and filing health insurance claims? Managing and filing insurance claims can be a complex, frustrating, stressful, confusing and time-consuming process, particularly for families who have children with special needs. But, given the high cost of health care today, it is critical that claims be filed…
Some people become disabled as the result of a work-related illness or injury. In these cases, the individual may be eligible for both Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and workers’ compensation benefits. Unfortunately, their total benefits may be limited by what is known as the “workers’ compensation offset.” Key to understanding the interplay between the two programs…
The lawyer who built the third-largest disability benefits practice in the United States from offices in a tiny eastern Kentucky town was captured on December 2, 2017, leaving a Pizza Hut restaurant in La Ceiba, Honduras. Eric Conn, who called himself “Mr. Social Security,” disappeared on June 2, 2017, after pleading guilty in March to…
Families taking advantage of ABLE savings accounts will have a little more flexibility in planning for special needs as a result of the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed into law by President Trump on December 22, 2017. As we previously discussed, ABLE accounts, created by Congress via the passage of the Achieving a Better…
The tax plan put forward by the Republican-led House of Representatives would eliminate many current deductions, and getting rid of one of them in particular could deal a serious financial blow to individuals with disabilities or their families. The plan proposes eliminating the medical expense deduction, a change that will affect those paying for costly…
Next year, Social Security recipients will see a 2 percent raise in benefits, the largest increase in six years. For Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) recipients, the average monthly benefit will go up from $1,170 to $1,180, not including people who are blind, for whom the monthly rate is significantly higher. For Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries,…
The amount that can be deposited in an ABLE account each year without jeopardizing public benefits will rise from the current $14,000 to $15,000 starting in 2018. The increase makes these accounts that much more attractive as a way for people with disabilities to shield gifts or income or even use as an alternative to a…
Families of people with special needs often face unusually high travel expenses. Medical emergencies or other unforeseen circumstances may require travel to care for their loved ones at a moment’s notice. Or family members may simply need to travel in order to visit the person with special needs. Typically, family members can be reimbursed for…
