Everyday People Matter
Drops in COVID masking, testing and vaccination are continuing to create the perfect conditions for a new variant to emerge. Experts warn that a new variant could cause significant mortality. The U.S. is experiencing its highest levels of influenza hospitalizations...
Getting a diagnosis of cancer when you are uninsured is a harrowing event. Many times the options depend on your sex, your type of cancer, and where you live. Federal legislation provides that female patients diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer qualify for...
There are two kinds of disability benefits the Social Security Administration provides. One is Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). It covers citizens between ages 18 to 65 and who paid into the Social Security program through payroll taxes. For SSDI the...
Staffers at the Social Security Administration gathered in Washington, D.C. this summer to protest a staffing and funding crisis at the agency. Employees contend more Americans will be denied benefits due to decades of low funding by Congress. Field office employees...
This July and August offered record-breaking heat waves with temperatures reaching at 99 degrees over week-long periods. Middle and South Georgia experienced temperatures reaching up to 100 degrees. The National Weather Service defines any heat index of 105 degrees...
The Social Security Administration Compassionate Allowance program quickly identifies claims where the applicant’s medical condition or disease clearly meets Social Security’s statutory standard for disability. Due to the severe nature of these conditions, these...
During the period of the public health emergency of COVID-19, states were required to keep individuals on Medicaid rolls without annual reviews. In May of this year, the Biden administration removed the public health emergency. Now states have from April 2023 to...
U.S. residents under 40 are dying of accidental overdoses. Death rates in this age group rose 21% from last year. Overdose deaths took 177,000 lives nationwide. In 37 states, overdose deaths are the number one cause of death in this age category, higher than deaths...
In 2020, Congress passed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act which sought to address a crisis nationally in mental health. The bill created a national crisis hotline: 9-8-8, an easy number to remember in a time of crisis. The hotline is a direct line to...
September is the last month before the end of the federal government’s fiscal year. The Senate came back into session on September 5th and the House returns on September 12th. Government funding for the next fiscal year must occur by October 1, 2023. While the...