Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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About 183,000 Philadelphians in Medicaid expansion renew every six months from Jan. 1, 2027, when some adults 19 to 64 must also show 80 hours or $580 a month
About 183,000 Philadelphians are in the Medicaid expansion group, and starting Jan. 1, 2027, those adults will have to renew their coverage every six months instead of once a year. Some adults ages 19 to 64 will also have to show 80 hours a month of work, school, training or volunteering, or household income of…
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Federal employees and retirees in MHBP Standard self-only coverage face $1,540 more a year in 2027 premiums, a Checkbook analysis says, and Open Season ends Dec. 14
Federal employees and retirees who carry MHBP Standard self-only coverage face the biggest premium jump in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program for 2027, $1,540 more a year. The estimate comes from an analysis by Consumers’ Checkbook, a nonprofit that compares health plans. Open Season, the yearly window to change plans, ends Dec. 14.…
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Connecticut released $12.7 million so about 32,893 deliverable-fuel households can get their heating benefits at the same time, with paid deliveries starting Nov. 2
Connecticut has set aside $12.7 million in state money so that about 32,893 households that heat with delivered fuel can receive their heating benefits at the same time, instead of using up one benefit before the next. Program-paid fuel deliveries start Nov. 2, and the last day to apply this winter is May 31, 2027.…
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The IRS says taxpayers usually have three years to file and claim a refund, and money left unclaimed after that becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury
People who skipped a tax return in a year when they were owed money back usually have three years to fix that, and the IRS says the clock is not forgiving. In its March 20, 2026 release, the agency said taxpayers who do not file within the window lose the refund to the U.S. Treasury.…
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Minnesota projects that roughly a third of the almost 18,000 more SNAP adults now facing work rules each month will eventually lose their benefits
Minnesota expects the new federal SNAP work rules to cost some households their food benefits. State projections say almost 18,000 more adults in an average month are now covered by the rules, and roughly a third of them are expected to eventually lose benefits. The rules now reach adults all the way up to age…
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CalFresh recipients in California’s Alpine County lose their SNAP time-limit waiver Oct. 31, while seven counties including Tulare, Merced and Imperial are waived from Nov. 1
CalFresh recipients in Alpine County lose their SNAP time-limit waiver on Oct. 31. Seven other California counties, including Tulare, Merced and Imperial, are covered by a waiver that starts Nov. 1 and runs through Oct. 31, 2027. The California Department of Social Services lists both changes on its CalFresh work rules page. The state’s notice…
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Some Nevada Medicaid adults 19 to 64 must log 80 activity hours or earn $580 monthly from Jan. 1, 2027 under Trump’s 2025 law, and some renew twice a year
Starting January 1, 2027, some Nevada Medicaid members ages 19 through 64 will have to show 80 hours of approved activity each month, or earn at least $580 a month, to keep their coverage. The rule comes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also called H.R. 1, the 2025 law President Donald Trump signed…
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Social Security lets an unmarried divorced spouse 62 or older, married at least 10 years, get up to half of an ex’s full benefit without cutting the ex’s check
A divorced person can collect Social Security on a former spouse’s record, and the former spouse’s own check does not shrink when that happens. The rule applies to someone who is 62 or older, has not remarried and was married to the ex for at least 10 years. The most the divorced spouse can receive…
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Social Security cannot pay benefits for the month a beneficiary dies, so the payment that arrives the following month must be returned
When a Social Security recipient dies, the payment for that month cannot be paid, and the deposit that shows up the next month has to go back. Social Security checks arrive a month behind, so the money landing in the account after a death is often the payment for the month the person died. Families…
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New York’s HEAP heating aid opens Nov. 2 with base benefits for oil, kerosene and propane raised to $990, for households earning up to $82,230 for a family of four
New York’s Home Energy Assistance Program, known as HEAP, opens for applications on Nov. 2, and the base benefit for households that heat with oil, kerosene or propane has gone up by $90, to $990. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the new season on Oct. 16. A family of four can have gross income of up…