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Wisconsin Disability Benefits Network Newsletter For Your Benefits

Vol. 6, Issue 26, June, 2008

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For Your Benefit – Introduction

The Wisconsin Disability Benefits Network (WDBN) is a statewide system that provides direct assistance to benefits counseling practitioners and seeks ways to reach out to and better serve people with disabilities, their supporters, and professional service providers in Wisconsin. This newsletter provides current program news, important notices and updates, and upcoming training and educational opportunities. Check out past editions of this newsletter!

2008 WDBN Calendar:

• August - WDBN Benefits Specialist Initial Training (subject to change). Check ERI's Training page for more information as it's available!
• Oct 14 and 15 - Benefits Specialist Conference (In collaboration with Annual ADRC conference) More Information.

What's New


Wisconsin Disability Benefits Specialist Round-up

Mark your calendar for the “Wisconsin Disability Benefits Specialist Round-up” a special conference for DBS, EBS and WIBS that will be held in coordination with the Wisconsin ADRC conference on October 14-15 at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton. Don't miss important educational sessions, networking and socializing around issues and topics common to all Wisconsin Benefits Specialists!

Quality Assurance Update

Contributed by Tammy Liddicoat (liddicoat@eri-wi.org)

As part of the work of the Wisconsin Benefits Specialist Quality Assurance Task Force, a proposed Code of Conduct for Wisconsin Benefits Specialists has been developed in coordination with a variety of benefits specialists and stakeholders. The Code of Conduct is in the final draft form and the Task Force is now asking for final input from benefits specialists statewide so that these may be adopted as part of a professional credential that is slated for implementation in 2009. If you are a Work Incentives, Elderly or Disability Benefits Specialist practicing in Wisconsin, please read and review this Code of Conduct and indicate your approval or provide specific feedback to Tammy Liddicoat by email at tliddicoat@eri-wi.org by August 1, 2008.

Assessing Product and Services Sold to DVR

Contributed by Tammy Liddicoat (liddicoat@eri-wi.org)

How can Wisconsin Benefits specialists providing services to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) to ensure that the products and services they are delivering are accurate, individualized and include the most appropriate information for a DVR customer? This has been a challenge for both the WDBN and DVR because our system does not have any process for assessing the products and services that work incentives benefits specialists (WIBS) provide.

For the past few months the WDBN has been involved in a work group with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation around the improvement of referral consistency and development of best practice standards for providing benefits services and reports. The committee is made up of several WIBS from across the state and four DVR reps including two counselors.

Together the work group has developed a written set of best practice quality indicators which apply to benefits analyses/written reports and will be using those to conduct a statewide assessment. The one-time pilot project will involve approximately 75 cases where benefit reports/analyses were purchased by DVR in 2007. Random, de-identified samples from each DVR vendor will be evaluated, along with the corresponding DVR case notes, against the list of quality indicators. The assessment will be conducted by the work group members and each case will receive two reviews.

The expected outcome of this exercise will be to create 1) a credible tool and system for assessing the quality of written benefits analysis products, and 2) a best practice standard and expectations regarding the role of DVR counselors in benefits counseling services.

The evaluation will be getting underway soon and will be completed by the end of the year. The final list of “benefits analysis quality indicators” will be available very soon. Look for this and any updates on our website under WDBN News (http://www.eri-wi.org/WDBN/News.htm). If you have any questions regarding this process please contact Tammy Liddicoat (liddicoat@eri-wi.org) or 608-246-3444 ext 222.


Managed Care and Employment Task Force Recommendations

Contributed by Mary Ridgely (mrid2252@aol.com)

The Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) convened the Managed Care and Employment Task Force in May 2007. The Task Force was charged with recommending a comprehensive strategy to "expand work options for adults who rely on the community-based, long-term care system." Seven issue committees held over thirty meetings during the past year to analyze current issues and challenges facing people in the long-term care system and to develop specific recommendations for the full Task Force to consider. A draft of the Final Report was reviewed at the last meeting of the Task Force on May 28, 2008. It includes seventeen recommendations that support and facilitate a broad range of employment choices and outcomes for people with disabilities.

DHFS has planned a number of listening sessions around the state to allow members of the public to review the draft final report and make recommendations or offer comments and feedback. Two recommendations are of particular importance to benefits/work incentives specialists. The following are excerpted from the Draft Final Report:

Recommendation # 4 states: "As individuals consider the possibilities around employment, benefits specialists should be available to provide accurate, timely and easy-to-understand information on the intersection of benefits eligibility and employment, including work incentives that allow individuals to work while maintaining eligibility for Social Security, Medicaid and long-term care services."

"As individuals consider the possibilities around employment, they should be fully informed about the Medical Assistance Purchase Plan (MAPP). To increase the use of MAPP as a vehicle to facilitate employment among those enrolled in or eligible for Medicaid, the state should make specific programmatic changes that will eliminate disincentives to work that currently exist in MAPP."

Some of the "programmatic changes" that are recommended for MAPP include:

• Raising the income limits for participants in MAPP;
• Changing the MAPP premium formula to eliminate the impact of a participant's monthly disability/retirement cash benefit payment on the monthly premium amount;
• Creating the means for MAPP participants to retain assets accumulated through employment when they retire, without losing Medicaid eligibility; and
• Eliminating the "marriage penalty" for MAPP participants by excluding a spouse's income for eligibility purposes.

The most effective way to get support for these recommendations is through stories of real people who would be affected by the policy changes. If you know of any individuals who are working and face the possibility of losing Medicaid eligibility when they retire, contact Mary Ridgely at 608-455-1563, or email her at mrid2252@aol.com.

Listening Sessions: Supporting Employment Options for People with Disabilities

Wisconsin's innovative Family Care program assists people with disabilities in reaching their goals for where and how they live, including assisting with community employment.

To implement the most effective employment assistance possible, the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services assembled the Managed Care and Employment Task Force (MCETF). Members of the public will have an opportunity at listening sessions around the state to offer their thoughts about the Family Care employment service plan as developed by the MCETF. The Task Force has completed its draft final report and recommendations and welcomes public comments and feedback.

We hope you will take the time to review the report and provide the Department of Health and Family Services with your thoughts at one of the June listening sessions. The draft report will be available June 3rd at: www.dhfs.state.wi.us/WIpathways.

Listening sessions are being held around the state throughout June, download the session flyer for more information about dates and locations (pdf).

GET INVOLVED! Calling for a Revised BPQY

The BPQY is one of the most useful tools for the ben spec, as it includes information about a person's benefits, earnings record, and use of work incentives. The information already present is necessary and helpful. Changes have been proposed to the BPQY, and these are some of the features we may see on the BPQY in the future:

These proposed changes would give a ben spec more information about the individual; therefore, help a ben spec to provide more accurate information to a beneficiary. Additionally, a ben spec may not have to verify as much of the information on the BPQY with SSA.

Overall, changes to the BPQY are becoming increasingly important and possible. In order to see these changes take place, ben specs can write a letter to the Commissioner of Social Security, Michael Astrue. Please see the example letter attached. Feel free to use it and/or add additional feedback to the letter. The more we raise awareness, the more likely it is we will benefit from future changes to the BPQY.

You can send letters to:
Michael Astrue,
Commissioner
Social Security Administration
6401 Security Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21235

Please feel free to download our template letter (WORD).

Pilot Project Promotes Employment By Eliminating Cash Cliff

Caution: Cliff Edge!Contributed by Terri Lannan, DHFS (Theresa.Lannan@dhfs.wisconsin.gov)

The Wisconsin Social Security Disability Insurance Employment Pilot (SSDI-EP) is available in four states (WI, VT, CT, and UT) and addresses one of the paramount policy barriers affecting individuals with disabilities interested in pursuing economic self-support through employment—the elimination of the cash cliff.

Currently, SSDI beneficiaries who want to test their ability to work and earn at higher levels are often prohibited from doing so by the all or nothing "cash cliff" imposed through existing policy. This pilot directly eliminates the current "cash cliff" by allowing SSDI beneficiaries to work AND earn above Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) ($940/month in 2008).

Rather than an immediate end to the benefit, participants will experience a gradual decline in their SSDI cash payment as their earnings increase. For every $2.00 earned above SGA, participants will experience a $1.00 decrease in their SSDI payment rather than losing their entire cash benefit. This is critical for individuals with disabilities who want to work more, but cannot afford to immediately lose their entire cash benefit.

In Wisconsin, nearly 500 people enrolled in the pilot, with half of those participants receiving the treatment (the $2 for $1 reduction after SGA), called the Treatment Group. DHFS currently contracts with 20 agencies to provide Benefits Counseling to all 500 participants and to help the Treatment Group (those with access to the cash benefit offset feature) participants with wage reporting, work incentive usage, and waiver of overpayments. DHFS staff function as liaisons between the Benefits Specialists and the SSA office in Baltimore that is handling the pilot cases.

April 2008 began the fourth and final year of the pilot. Pilot activities such as data collection, benefits and employment counseling available to participants, and ongoing interaction/communication with the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the three other pilot states continue. Additionally, we are planning phase-out activities to ensure that participants in the Treatment Group will have ongoing access to the system of services and supports needed to continue pursuing their employment and earnings goals once the pilot ends.

Attention Benefit Specialists … Pilot Participants May Soon Be Seeking You!

Phase-out activities will include informing pilot participants and other stakeholders of the end of the pilot and what that means. Treatment Group participants may maintain eligibility for the pilot rules for many years (6 years beyond their last TWP month, to be exact). Therefore, any Benefits Specialist may be contacted by a Treatment Group participant in the future and may be asked to help with wage reporting, work incentive usage or waiver of overpayments.

You can find more information on the SSDI Employment Pilot in all four states at http://benefitoffset.org.

Wisconsin Developing Efforts to Reduce Prison Re-Entry

As the American prison population continues to rise, Wisconsin's inmate count is keeping pace at about the same rate. The latest statistics from the U-S Justice Department show the prison and jail population topped out at 2-point-3 million. That's a three percent rise over 2006. As of June last year, Wisconsin's prisons held 23 thousand inmates. That's two-thousand more than the year before. But prison reform advocates and corrections officials have their eye on a different number. More than 700 thousand people were released from prison in 2006, an 18 percent increase since the beginning of the decade. Mark Mauer of the National Sentencing Project says most states have launched ambitious programs to keep those returning inmates from going back to prison.

A quick look at prison release numbers compared to prison admissions in Wisconsin is a good illustration of the proverbial "revolving door" that keeps recidivism rates high. In 2006, 87-hundred inmates left Wisconsin prisons, while an equal number were admitted. But Mary Kay Kollat who heads the Department of Corrections re-entry effort says the state has a five-year plan to make sure more of those who leave prison don't come back. To pay for those programs, Wisconsin, like other states, is waiting for Congress to release some of the 360 million dollars approved for re-entry programs this year.

At our recent quarterly meeting, Ron Konkol, Social Security Administration, spoke about their efforts in being a part of the re-entry team. The following are just some of the entities are involved in the re-entry process:

Pre-Release Steps:

Pre-Release / Post-Release Resources

Working with Homeless Populations — Ron Konkol, Social Security Administration

Social Security: The Benefits of Online Services

As more and more people become accustomed to doing their business online, social security has responded to this trend by making frequently performed tasks available online. Barb Krueger, from Social Security, spoke at our recent WDBN Quarterly Meeting about some of the key areas benefit recipients and benefit counselors can take advantage of online. Find out more about what you can do online. Of particular interest to Benefits Counselors is the online Disability Benefits Application process. A couple of ways to do this process online are outlined below:

Benefit Application – Process for Consumers and Families

Tips / Things to Note:

i3368PRO - Benefit Application – Process for Professionals Assisting a Consumer

Tips / Things to Note:

Social Security Debit Card

From the Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com

No bank account? No problem. Now you can have your Social Security benefits loaded directly onto an electronic debit card that works like a gift card from Uncle Sam.

The card is part of a push by the U.S. Treasury Department to encourage the 10.5 million people who still get a paper Social Security check once a month to switch to electronic payments. The change could save some recipients hefty check-cashing charges, and it could save the federal government as much as $42 million a year, Treasury officials said.

The only stumbling block: About 2.1 million Social Security recipients don't have bank accounts. Neither do about 1.8 million disabled and low-income people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

The solution: Direct Express cards, managed by Comerica Bank, which allow recipients to carry their benefits on a piece of plastic that can be used like a debit card at any bank, retail outlet or automatic teller machine that accepts MasterCard.

"After the card is activated, instead of us sending out a check to a post office box and hoping it doesn't get lost or stolen, they will know that their benefits are deposited in their card account on their payment date," Judith R. Tillman, commissioner of Treasury's Financial Management Service, said yesterday. "They can go to an ATM, go to a post office if they need a money order, go to almost any bank or use it at retail locations to pay for a purchase and get cash back."

Tillman said the card is free and there are no fees for using it.

In a pilot project last year in Illinois, about 3,000 people activated the card. Eighty percent said they were satisfied, with 60 percent reporting that the card saved them money on check-cashing fees. Since then, Treasury has begun slowly advertising the card to all Social Security recipients who receive paper checks, starting in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Inserts are now going out to the Southeastern states, with the rest of the nation to follow by October.

To sign up, look for an insert in your Social Security check between now and October. Or call Direct Express toll free at 877-212-9991. Or go online to http://www.usdirectexpress.com.

U.S. Census Bureau Updates Disability Facts

From the Onestop Toolkit

It's that time a year again when the U.S. Census Bureau updates their Facts for Features on the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is July 26th. This issue includes some great facts that you can include in flyers, brochures, factoids, marketing materials…Your work is making a difference because of your efforts more people with disabilities are finding more effective and meaningful employment opportunities, but there is still more work to be done. According to this issue:

On the Job

11.8 million
Number of 16- to 64-year-olds who reported a medical condition that makes it difficult to find a job or remain employed. They comprise 6 percent of the population this age.

56%
Percentage of people 21 to 64 having some type of disability who were employed in the past year. The rate ranged from 82 percent of those with a nonsevere disability to 43 percent with a severe disability. For those without a disability, the employment rate is 88 percent for the same period.

44%
Percentage of people with a nonsevere disability who work full time, year-round. This compares with 53 percent without a disability and 13 percent with a severe disability.

Read more under "Resources of Interest" and access the issue at:

Benefits News Roundup

Benefits News Roundup

MA Buy-In under 1619(b) Eligibility

Recipients who receive both Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments and who are also entitled to Medicare will have their Part B premiums paid by the state through Medicaid (MA) under the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) buy-in provision. Anyone who receives MA based on his/her status as an SSI recipient is automatically eligible for QMB.

If a recipient is working and earning too much to receive monthly SSI payments, state MA will still pay the Medicare premium. SSI recipients whose payments stop due to their earned income but are otherwise eligible for SSI can go into 1619(b) status, which means they are still eligible for but not receiving SSI payments.

As long as a recipient meets all the other SSI eligibility requirements (being disabled, resources under the limit, etc.) and the 1619(b) requirements (needing MA, having total earned income below the yearly threshold amount), he/she will remain eligible for MA and the state will still pay the Medicare premium for Part B. (Medicaid Eligibility Handbook 32.2.1)

SSA Benefit Suspension and Premium Medicare

The Social Security Administration (SSA) may have to suspend a beneficiary's monthly payments for a variety of reasons including when representative payee development is necessary, or when the beneficiary's whereabouts are unknown, or when the beneficiary is imprisoned. If the beneficiary is also enrolled in Medicare and premiums for coverage are being withheld from the monthly benefit checks, the payment of those premiums is an issue that has to be addressed. If Part A (HI) is premium-free (as it is for most beneficiaries), it will continue despite benefit suspension.

When a beneficiary's payments are suspended and the direct withholding of premiums stop, Medicare will send the beneficiary a bill for the premiums and expect payment by direct remittance. If the premium payments are not made within a prescribed period of time, coverage will be terminated as described below.

Termination of Medicare coverage because of nonpayment of premiums occurs the last day of the grace period for payment of overdue premiums, which is the last day of the third month after the month of direct billing. If the premiums are not paid, the beneficiary will still be obligated to pay them upon any later re-entitlement to Medicare. However, if the beneficiary requests voluntary termination, coverage and premium liability stop at the end of the calendar month following the calendar month in which the termination request is filed.

A beneficiary whose coverage has ended because of non-payment of premiums or voluntary withdrawal may re enroll in Medicare during a General Enrollment Period (GEP) which is January through March of each year. Entitlement based on GEP enrollment begins July 1 of the year during which the GEP enrollment takes place. (POMS HI 01001.045, HI 00820.095, HI 00805.025)

SSI and Rental Subsidies

Normally when a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient receives any item of food or shelter for free or for less than the current market value, the Social Security Administration (SSA) counts the value of that assistance as unearned income which can reduce the amount of the recipient's payment. Such non-cash assistance is called In-kind Support and Maintenance (ISM); in cases involving ISM, SSA presumes that the value of the ISM does not exceed a set maximum amount called the Presumed Maximum Value (PMV), which is one-third the Federal Benefit Rate (FBR) plus $20. For example, in 2008 for an individual the PMV is $212.33 + $20 = $232.33.

The ISM rule does not apply to housing assistance or subsidies paid by the Federal Government or through other entities such as local housing authorities, nonprofit organizations for a dwelling unit; such assistance is excluded from income and resources for SSI.

Also, due to a court order, in Wisconsin (and five other states) the ISM rule has an exception in rental subsidy situations. When an SSI recipient is paying for rent an amount at least equal to or greater than the current PMV, SSA cannot charge ISM against the recipient even if the amount he/she paid is less than the current market rental value. In most other states, SSA may charge ISM against an SSI recipient when what he/she pays is less than the current market rental value.

For example, if the landlord (regardless of the relationship to the recipient) normally charges $600 for rent, but the recipient pays $232.33, SSA cannot charge any ISM against the recipient. POMS SI 00835.380 C(2), D(4)

Loans: SSI and SSDI

Ask Ben SpeckDear Ben,
I get both regular Social Security disability (SSDI it's called) and SSI disability. I may have the chance to go back to school but will have to borrow some money to make it happen. My ex-brother-in-law's second cousin told me that any money I get from a loan or wherever else would definitely count against me so that my SSI monthly check would be lowered or even stopped, and that even my regular SSDI payment might even go down. What can I do? I want to go back to school but can't afford to lose my benefits.

Joe

Dear Joe,
Let's consider your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits first. Income or money you receive other than earnings from any employment will not affect your SSDI benefits. If you do work, you need to report this to Social Security; the work should not have an immediate affect on your SSDI but may ultimately if you are able to work substantially over a period of months.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments are different from SSDI benefits: they are affected by other income you receive because eligibility is based on need. However, a loan that is legally valid and made in good faith is not income for SSI because you are obligated to repay the money. (POMS SI 00815.350) However, the money received from a non-student loan can count as a resource toward the $2000 limit for SSI if kept into the month following the month of the receipt of the loan. (POMS SI 01120.220B.1.a)

Student loans used for tuition, fees, and other necessary educational expenses have some special rules that apply for SSI. In regard to the resource limit, the general rule is that an SSI recipient has 9 months after receipt of a student loan to spend it before it counts as a resource toward the $2000 limit (POMS SI 01130.455.)

All student financial assistance received under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) or Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) student assistance programs is excluded from income and resources, regardless of use, and the resource exclusion for this educational assistance does not have a time limit; that is, regardless of how long the assistance funds are held, they are excluded from resources for SSI.

So if you obtain a student loan that is not one of the Federal Education Loans mentioned above, but you still use or intend to use it to pay the cost of your tuition, fees, or other necessary educational expenses, the 9 month rule would apply.

I hope you are able to obtain the funding you need to return to school. If you ever have questions about Social Security, be sure to always ask the people at the local SSA office or a benefits counselor; unfortunately the amount of misinformation about benefits in circulation is vast.

Ben S.

Economic Stimulus Payments and SSI

The Economic Stimulus Act provides for the distribution of federal one-time rebate checks to those who had $3000 of qualifying income in 2007. The rebate payments will be between $300 and $600 for an individual and between $600 and $1,200 for a couple filing taxes jointly. An additional $300 is payable for each qualifying minor child in a household.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients who meet the qualifying income requirement of $3,000 for 2007 and file a tax return will receive these rebate payments which started going out in May and will continue over the next few months.

The rebate payment will not be counted as income for purposes of determining either SSI eligibility or SSI payment amounts.

The rebate payment also will not be counted as an SSI resource for 2 months following the month of receipt of the rebate. For example, a rebate payment received in June will be excluded as a resource for July and August, but will be a countable resource with August if retained.


Training and Educational Opportunities:


SSA WISE Seminars

WISE seminars are community level, small group informational seminars that will promote opportunities for beneficiaries to meet directly with benefits specials with the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) programs called Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWIC)s, local Employment Networks, SSA field office representatives, Disability Program Navigators and other public and private community-based groups. The seminars provide a customer friendly environment for learning about work incentives and demystifying fears related to return to work for beneficiaries, as well as connecting to employment supports and services in the community.

Learn when and where these seminars will take place in your state. Learn how you can participate, as well as connect Social Security disability beneficiaries and gain an opportunity to see the range of options for someone interested in exploring work.

Ongoing Training:

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