Public Benefits

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments November 10 in a case weighing the elimination of the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), with potentially dire implications for the civil rights of people with disabilities.

Social Security disability recipients will see an increase in benefit levels for 2021, although the rise will be the smallest in years, due to the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  ...

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act contains little relief specifically for people with disabilities, and one provision in the bill could actually compromise the rights of special education students during the pandemic.  ...

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic recession has sparked fresh concerns about the long-term solvency of Social Security’s trust funds. ...

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced that Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients will have the $1,200 COVID-19 relief checks automatically deposited in their bank accounts.

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued regulations clarifying that people who have to take time off work to care for family members with disabilities may be eligible for the new paid sick leave protections enacted by Congress.

Pending federal legislation could provide vital funds to states for home and community-based services for people with disabilities, offering hope and relief to hundreds of thousands of Americans currently on waiting lists for Medicaid waivers...

The deadline is Tuesday, May 5 for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients who did not file tax returns the past two years and who have dependent children under age 17 to request $500 per child COVID-19 relief checks this year.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has suspended eligibility reviews and other  standard procedures for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries.