Public Benefits

A proposal to establish a new national long-term care insurance program for those with disabilities is under attack by the insurance industry.

A case illustrates the elaborate lengths some disability applicants must go through in order to obtain benefits that are rightfully theirs, and it also is a reminder of a dilemma many beneficiaries face once they receive their awards.

When a person with special needs cannot make important financial decisions, the government sends his benefits directly to a third party, known as a representative payee. ...

After a successful effort by the 14-year-old brother of a girl with intellectual disabilities to remove the word "retarded" from Maryland law, US Senator Barbara Mikulski has proposed a bill that would do the same thing in all federal programs.

People with disabilities are more likely to lack adequate nutrition and they find it hard to get nutritional help — or even recognition — from the federal government’s SNAP (food stamp) program.

Workers who must pay for the care of a dependent relative, including a child with special needs, so that they can continue to work can get a significant tax benefit under a little-known provision of the Internal Revenue Code, the...

An amendment to health care reform legislation would offer people with special needs greater access to in-home attendant services.

A final achievement in a short but remarkable life was a contribution to improving housing conditions for those with special needs.

The Social Security Administration recently issued its 2009 Cost of Living Adjustments, which result in slightly larger Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) awards for 2009, amongst other changes.