Public Benefits

When Richard West, a 63-year-old veteran with muscular dystrophy, caught his home health care provider overbilling the state of New Jersey for services that it provided to Medicaid patients, he never expected that the state would reward him for his...

If an applicant for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a needs-based federal disability benefit, transfers assets out of her name prior to applying for benefits, she could face a stiff transfer penalty that would delay receipt of often vital services.

Many Medicare beneficiaries buy a supplemental health insurance policy, called a "Medigap" policy, but the rules barring discrimination against applicants with pre-existing conditions do not apply to people with disabilities who are not yet 65 years old.

A report written by the Republican staff of the Senate's subcommittee on investigations found that administrative law judges - who decide appeals of federal disability claims - were not always properly citing medical evidence when making positive disability determinations, due...

A recent Parade magazine article highlights the problems that young adults face when they "age-out" of special education services and announces a Web site where families of people with autism can connect.

Several little-noticed provisions of the recently-enacted law that extended the Bush-era tax cuts fundamentally alter how the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid programs treat tax refunds and other tax credits, making it easier for people with special needs to...

The Obama administration has provisionally agreed to end Medicare's longstanding practice of requiring that beneficiaries with chronic conditions and disabilities show a likelihood of improvement in order to receive coverage of skilled care and therapy services.

Gift cards are the most popular holiday gifts, but they can cause problems for recipients who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Here are some things to consider before purchasing a gift card for a person with special needs during this...

The Social Security Administration (SSA) recently proposed new regulations for how it determines whether someone with a mental disorder is eligible for disability payments. Mental health advocates are concerned that the proposed rules will lead to the use of...