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July 2008 SSI Coalition Meeting Agenda

Educational Rewards Grant Program

The Educational Rewards Grant Program was established in 2006 to encourage and aid low-income students, particularly part-time students, seeking education leading to jobs in high-demand occupations. The program grants between $200 and $3,000 to students who are dislocated workers or who are at or…

Affordable Housing Guidebook for Massachusetts

Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA)
From the 2008 summary:  "This comprehensive guidebook provides information on all state and federal affordable housing programs administered in Massachusetts. The guidebook’s 14 chapters include an overview of housing needs, state budget trends, and information on programs ranging…

CLE flier for Elders on Elimination of Food Stamp Asset Test

Attached is a flier - jointly developed by DTA and MLRI - targeted for elders and which announces the new food stamp rules effective June 9th. A separate flier is being developed specific to persons with disabilities. Although elimination of the asset test affects all FS households (with the…

The American Academy of Pain Medicine

The American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) is the medical specialty society representing physicians practicing in the field of Pain Medicine. AAPM website presents current and relevant clinical information in pain medicine today.

BMI calculator from American Society of Bariatric Surgery

Social Security Ruling on CFS (from fibromyalgia information foundation)

The Social Security Administration (SSA) issued a ruling on April 30, 1999 which for the first time stated that CFS can be classified as a "medically determinable impairment" under SSA rules. This ruling provides guidance to disability claims processors for applying SSA policy to…

SSA memorandum of CFS

Instituting a Race-Conscious Practice in Legal Aid: One Program’s Effort

Mona Tawatao, Colin Bailey, Gary Smith, and Bill Kennedy
Legal Services of Northern California in October 2003 looked at racial disparities in health care, wealth, and housing and concluded that we, as a program, could no longer continue a poverty law practice that did not consciously confront these disparities. Here we describe our efforts to adopt a…

FNS summary of 2008 Farm Bill that passed

DTA is working on implementing the new provisions effective October 1, 2008.

MAP locations in MA

If your clients have a Medicare or Medicare - related issue, you have a resource in the Medicare Advocacy Project (MAP). MAP handles all kinds of Medicare matters - Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage Plans, coverage issues from nursing homes to durable medical equipment to medications,…

Medicare General Appeals Processing Chart

Medicare Advocacy Project, GBLS
Chart outlining the Medicare appeals process.

Commonwealth Care "Exception Letter" Q&A

Advocates and outreach workers have been inundated with the curious phenomenon known as the Commonwealth Care "Exception Letter".  In response to many questions and concerns about the correct use of these letters the Connector Authority has put out the attached Q&A.The first…

Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack (video)

Peggy McIntosh
5:30 minute video of Peggy McIntosh providing real-world examples of an array of unearned privileges unavailable to people of color.

July 2008 Changes in Commonwealth Care

July 2008 Changes in Commonwealth Care Premium and copayment increases --analysis and advocacy tips

Eligibility Operations Memo on MBR Changes Involving Employer Sponsored Insurance

Flyer on Changes in MassHealth Dental Program

Who Are Undocumented Immigrants

Iris Gomez, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
A fact sheet prepared by Iris Gomez, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.

Fair Employment Project

Fair Employment Project, Inc. is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization whose mission is to reduce violations of employment civil rights by providing assistance and information to Massachusetts workers and their advocates.

State Secrecy and Child Deaths in the U.S., An Evaluation of Public Disclosure Practices About Child Abuse or Neglect Fatalities

Child Advocacy Institute and FirstStar
Joint Report of Child Advocacy Institute and First Star. Mass gets a D-. DSS responds that report looks at disclosure laws on the books rather than DSS actual practices. Child Advocate says disclosure of case details to the public not the relevant criterion.

DTA Language Statistics

 Includes data from multiple years including 2008. 

MassHealth Premium Hardship Waiver

Hardship Waiver for MassHealth Premiums

GN 02201.040 Collection of Title II/Title XVI Overpayments by Administrative Wage Garnishment (AWG)

SSA
POMS Section: GN 02201.040 

Transportation benefits chart

Chart of different transportation reimubursement options for clients receiving benefits.

Thousands of MassHealth Households Subject to Termination for Non-Payment of Premiums

Starting in March, somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 MassHealth households who are currently responsible for premiums will receive notices that they are in substantial arrears on their monthly MassHealth premiums, and that they will be put on a six month payment plan to pay off their arrearage. …

Proposed individual mandate tax penalties for 2008

Tax penalties proposed for tax year 2008 for those uninsured adults with access to affordable insurance.

Emergency Rooms -- Wrong Place for Mental Health Care

Susan Stefan, CPR
Center for Public Representation attorney Susan Stefan has an op-ed piece in the Boston Globe about the treatment of people with mental illness in hospital emergency rooms.

Guidelines for Being a Strong White Ally

Paul Kivel
What does allyship look like in practice? Paul Kivel, author of Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Social Justice, has published a set of guidelines on the kinds of support white people can provide to a person of color as a daily practice. 

Legislative Committee Listings

MLRI
This is an explanation and listing of the various committees of the Massachusetts Legislature.

Draft Agenda for November 16, 2007 SSI Coalition Meeting at LACCM

Draft Agenda - SSI Coalition MeetingFriday November 16, 2007LACCM405 Main Street, 4th Floor, Worcester, MA9:30 - 10:00 Continental Breakfast 10.00 - 11:00 Barbara Kinney, Assoc. Commissioner, Worcester DDS11:00 - 12:00 What's On the Horizon For DSI ? Ray Kelly, Linda Landry 12:00 - 1:00 Lunch (on…

MMPI Looks at Rosie D.

Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute
The Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute has released a new policy paper looking at the opportunities and challenges faced in the implementation of Rosie D. v. Romney lawsuit. This issue brief explores the implications and potential effects of the case and the resulting proposed remedy on the…

Connector Affordability Worksheet English

The Affordability worksheet is used to determine whether there is an affordable health insurance product available to an individual or household.  Persons determined to have no affordable coverage are exempt from the Individual Mandate.

Connector Certificate of Exemption Application (Individual Mandate)

For 2007 tax year, this needs to be filed by December 1, 2007. The form must be submitted by December 1 to be considered. However, someone who doesn’t submit the form can still receive a hardship exemption from the mandate by reporting similar information on their state tax return. In fact,…

Connector Hardship Q&A

Hardship criteria explained for the Individual Mandate

Connector Affordability Worksheet in Spanish

A Systemic Approach to End Homelessness

Applied Systems Thinking Journal - David Peter Stroh and Michael Goodman
This article provides a case study of how Systems Thinking was applied by the authors with a community brought together by the Battle Creek Homeless Coalition to address the chronic homelessness in surrounding Calhoun County. Through this collaboration involving broad multi-sector representation,…

Children's Rights to Medical Services under EPSDT

MLRI
Summary of the rights of children under age 21 to early, periodic screening, diagnostic and treatement (EPSDT) services under Medicaid (MassHealth). UPDATE: Please note the address of the Board of Hearings has changed since the attached Memo was written. The address of the MassHealth Board of…

October 2007 Food Stamp increases

Federal food stamp allotments and deductions increase effective October 1, 2007. DTA's notices for October still use the old amounts, but people should receive the increased amounts in October. A chart from the Food Research Action Center with the new amounts is attached.

Summary of Health Access Developments in FY 2008

MLRI
Summary of fiscal 2008 budget items and administrative developments affecting access to MassHealth, CMSP, Prescription Advantage, Free Care (Health Safety Net), Commonwealth Care and implementation of the "Individual Mandate" to have health insurance--with citations.

From the Free Care Pool to the Safety Net Pool

Slides of a presentation describing conversion of the existing Free Care Pool to the newly proposed Safety Net Pool

Establishing Disability For Young Adults (July, 2007)

Linda Landry and Tom Yates
 By Linda Landry, DLC, and Thomas Yates, Health and Disability Advocates.  SSI and SSDI disability benefits and work incentives for children and young adults.  July, 2007 

Draft Agenda for July 13, 2007 SSI Coalition Meeting at LACCM

DLC
DRAFT AGENDA SSI Coalition Meeting Friday, July 13, 2006 Legal Assistance Corporation for Central Massachusetts 405 Main Street, 4th Floor, Worcester, MA 9:30 - 10:00 Continental Breakfast 10.00 - 11:00 Barbara Kinney, Assoc. Commissioner, Worcester DDS 11:00 - 12:00 SSA Backlogs, DSI Update and…

Senate Finance Committee Hearing (6/21/07): Barriers to Work for Individuals Receiving Social Security Disability Benefits

Immigration Links -- International Resources and Country Condition Reports

Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
The following are immigration related International Resources and Country Condition Reports: International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission:  Includes LGBT-specific country reports and international jurisprudence Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Index: Index of…

Important July 1st 2007 Health Changes

Important July 1st Health Program Changes Effective July 1st, the following changes are being taken to further implement health care reform. No premiums for households under 150% of poverty in MassHealth or Commonwealth Care- In MassHealth alone, close to 19,000 households who are currently paying…

CORI: Opening Doors of Opportunity

Report from the Boston Foundation on CORI and Employment.

NAPABA Report "Increasing Access to Justice for Limited English Proficient Asian Pacific Americans"

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
In May 2007, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) published a report for action titled, "Increasing Access to Justice for Limited English Proficient Asian Pacific Americans". The report summarizes the state of language access services for Asian Pacific Americans…

Subsidy and Special Conditions (VCU January 2006)

Briefing paper by Virginia Commonwealth University Benefits Assistance Resource Center on Subsidy and Special Conditions. These are work incentives available to rebut evidence of ability to perform Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) for purposes of SSI/SSDI eligibility and continuing SSDI.

MLRI's Food Stamp Policy Recommendations to Patrick/Murray Administration

Attached is a missive to the Patrick/Murray Administration (EOHHS and DTA) with over 40 specific recommendations to improve customer service, FS participation of under-served households and increase the monthly FS benefit amount. This document represents FS improvements identified at FS Coalition…

POMS SI 01415.039 on SSI State Living Arrangements and State Supplements for 2007

SSA