Latest news with #JusticeinAging
NBC News
05-05-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Social Security reduces benefit clawback from 100% to 50% for some; experts still warn of 'devastating' effects
Just weeks after announcing a 100% withholding rate on new overpayments of benefits, the Social Security Administration has slashed the rate down to 50% for certain beneficiaries. Yet that clawback on monthly benefit checks may still cause a financial burden for individuals who are affected, experts say. For new overpayment notices sent on or after April 25, the 50% default withholding rate will apply to so-called Title II benefits, which include retirement, survivors and disability insurance, according to an emergency message released by the Social Security Administration. The withholding rate for Supplemental Security Income benefits remains 10%. 'Obviously, it's better not to lose all of your income,' said Kate Lang, director of federal income security at Justice in Aging, a national organization focused on fighting senior poverty. 'But if you're relying on your benefits to pay your rent or your mortgage and buy food, losing half of that income is going to be devastating and can still result in people becoming homeless,' Lang said. How beneficiaries end up owing Social Security Beneficiaries may owe the Social Security Administration money due to overpayments — when their monthly benefit checks are more than what they are owed. The erroneous payments can happen for a variety of reasons, such as if a beneficiary fails to report a change in their circumstances to the agency or if the agency does not process information promptly or enters errors in its data. When the Social Security Administration determines a beneficiary has been overpaid, a notice is sent to request a full and immediate refund, according to the agency. Beneficiaries typically have 90 days to request a lower rate of withholding, a reconsideration or waiver of recovery. If they do not make such a request within that 90-day window, the agency will withhold up to 50% of their benefits until the sum of the amount that was overpaid is fully recovered, according to the agency's update. The Social Security Administration had previously announced that it would increase the default withholding rate for overpayments to 100%. Under President Joe Biden's administration, the default withholding rate had been dropped to 10% of a beneficiary's monthly benefit or $10 — whichever was greater. Generally, the rate beneficiaries are subject to is based on the terms at the time they were notified. 'In the last 100 days, we've gone from as low as 10 [percent] to 100 and now to 50,' said Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. The 100% withholding rate was 'ridiculously draconian and cruel,' Fiesta said. The Social Security Administration had said the change to that full recovery rate would generate about $7 billion in program savings in the next decade, based on estimates from the chief actuary. Yet even with the default withholding rate cut in half, beneficiaries may still struggle financially. 'Losing 50% [of benefits] for a lot of people could put them into immediate economic hardship,' Fiesta said. In most cases, it wasn't the beneficiary's fault that they were overpaid, Fiesta said. 'They shouldn't be put in a worse situation because of something they never caused in the first place,' he said. 'A lot of discretion' in negotiating repayment terms While beneficiaries do have the ability to negotiate the payments, there is no guarantee they will be successful and the outcomes may vary, according to Lang. 'There are thousands of employees that individual beneficiaries are going to be dealing with to ask for a waiver or ask to negotiate a different repayment rate,' Lang said. 'And those employees have a lot of discretion in what they decide.' Beneficiaries who are dealing with overpayment issues also face long wait times to make an appointment to visit a Social Security Administration office, which can interfere with their ability to exercise the options available to them, she said. The Social Security Administration did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.
CNBC
05-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Social Security reduces benefit clawback from 100% to 50% for some; experts still warn of 'devastating' effects
Just weeks after announcing a 100% withholding rate on new overpayments of benefits, the Social Security has slashed the rate down to 50% for certain beneficiaries. Yet that clawback on monthly benefit checks may still cause a financial burden for individuals who are affected, experts say. For new overpayment notices sent on or after April 25, the 50% default withholding rate will apply to so-called Title II benefits, which include retirement, survivors and disability insurance, according to an emergency message released by the Social Security Administration. The withholding rate for Supplemental Security Income benefits remains 10%. More from Personal Finance:Should you wait to claim Social Security? Here's what experts sayAmericans more worried about running out of money in retirement than dyingNearing retirement? These strategies can protect from tariff volatility "Obviously, it's better not to lose all of your income," said Kate Lang, director of federal income security at Justice in Aging, a national organization focused on fighting senior poverty. "But if you're relying on your benefits to pay your rent or your mortgage and buy food, losing half of that income is going to be devastating and can still result in people becoming homeless," Lang said. Beneficiaries may owe the Social Security Administration money due to overpayments — when their monthly benefit checks are more than what they are owed. The erroneous payments can happen for a variety of reasons, such as if a beneficiary fails to report a change in their circumstances to the agency or if the agency does not process information promptly or enters errors in its data. When the Social Security Administration determines a beneficiary has been overpaid, a notice is sent to request a full and immediate refund, according to the agency. Beneficiaries typically have 90 days to request a lower rate of withholding, a reconsideration or waiver of recovery. If they do not make such a request within that 90-day window, the agency will withhold up to 50% of their benefits until the sum of the amount that was overpaid is fully recovered, according to the agency's update. The Social Security Administration had previously announced that it would increase the default withholding rate for overpayments to 100%. Under President Joe Biden's administration, the default withholding rate had been dropped to 10% of a beneficiary's monthly benefit or $10 — whichever was greater. Generally, the rate beneficiaries are subject to is based on the terms at the time they were notified. "In the last 100 days, we've gone from as low as 10 [percent] to 100 and now to 50," said Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. The 100% withholding rate was "ridiculously draconian and cruel," Fiesta said. The Social Security Administration had said the change to that full recovery rate would generate about $7 billion in program savings in the next decade, based on estimates from the chief actuary. Yet even with the default withholding rate cut in half, beneficiaries may still struggle financially. "Losing 50% [of benefits] for a lot of people could put them into immediate economic hardship," Fiesta said. In most cases, it wasn't the beneficiary's fault that they were overpaid, Fiesta said. "They shouldn't be put in a worse situation because of something they never caused in the first place," he said. While beneficiaries do have the ability to negotiate the payments, there is no guarantee they will be successful and the outcomes may vary, according to Lang. "There are thousands of employees that individual beneficiaries are going to be dealing with to ask for a waiver or ask to negotiate a different repayment rate," Lang said. "And those employees have a lot of discretion in what they decide." Beneficiaries who are dealing with overpayment issues also face long wait times to make an appointment to visit a Social Security Administration office, which can interfere with their ability to exercise the options available to them, she said. The Social Security Administration did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Judge says lawsuit against health department can proceed over missed nursing home inspections
The U.S. District Court in Baltimore. (File photo by Danielle E. Gaines/Maryland Matters) A group of nursing home residents can press their lawsuit against the Maryland Health Department over lapsed nursing home inspections, and the case can proceed as a class-action suit, a federal judge has ruled. Those findings came after U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox denied the department's request to dismiss the case. In that April 22 ruling, Maddox approved 'class certification' for nursing home residents 'who have disabilities and mobility impairment, and who live in nursing facilities' overseen by the Department of Health. Some 9,000 Marylanders fit that description and will be represented as the case continues, according to Justice in Aging, one of the advocacy groups leading the lawsuit. 'At this early stage of the litigation, the Court finds the facts alleged in the Complaint sufficient to draw a chain of causation between MDH's oversight and enforcement failures and Plaintiffs' particularized and unique injuries and risks as mobility-impaired residents of nursing facilities,' according to Maddox's opinion. 'Defendants' motion to dismiss the Complaint … shall be denied.' Attorneys representing five nursing home residents filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for Maryland last May against the Health Department and its then-secretary, Laura Herrera Scott. The lawsuit alleges that the state's failure to conduct annual nursing home inspections, as required, has led to substandard care for residents of those facilities. 'It's a very positive step that we survived the motion to dismiss and provided sufficient evidence to the court for class certification,' said Liam McGivern, an attorney at Justice in Aging, while noting that there is still a long court process ahead. Health officials cut inspection backlog of nursing homes, advocates demand more The complaint asks the court to force the department to conduct nursing home surveys on the federally required 12-month schedule and ensure that complaints issued against nursing homes are answered in a reasonable time frame. It also asks for attorney's fees and any other relief deemed appropriate by the court. With its motion to dismiss rejected, the department has until May 20 to respond to the complaint. A department spokeperson did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Maddox's ruling comes at a time when the health department is actively working through a years-old backlog of nursing home inspections. The department said it is making progress, with more than half of the state's 220 nursing homes receiving an annual inspection within the last 16 months. But with some facilities being more than four years overdue for an inspection, advocates fear that some Maryland seniors may be languishing in unsafe living conditions while the state plays catch-up. 'They're still woefully behind,' McGivern said. 'When complaints are not timely investigated, it often means that they'll never be meaningfully investigated … The backlog is so bad when the state finally gets around to investigating a complaint months or years later, they're not really able to adequately conduct that investigation — records are lost, residents have moved on, staff have moved on, the facility has changed ownership' The initial court complaint outlines some nursing home residents' troubling experiences in their facilities, some of which had not been inspected by the health department for four years. The plaintiffs have mobility-related disabilities and rely on nursing staff for moving around the facility, eating and personal hygiene. The lawsuit alleges that residents were often left unattended for extended periods, leaving them isolated from community events or sometimes left in soiled clothing for hours, among other concerns outlined in the lawsuit. 'When the state does not go in to survey and make sure that nursing facilities are doing what they're supposed to be doing, that falls most harshly on people with mobility impairment – and so, discriminates against them within the meaning of the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act],' McGivern said. 'They have no way to remedy, for example, their call not being answered or the facility not helping them leave their beds, leaving them confined and isolated in their room.' In the time that has passed since the initial court filing, one plaintiff has died, a 75-year-old identified by the pseudonym 'Herman Dressel.' The complaint said Dressel had mobility limitations that required staff assistance bathing, dressing and getting in and out of bed. But as with other plaintiffs in the case, he did not receive the daily support to help him move about the day and receive the incontinence care that was expected for his services. McGivern noted they are not claiming that his March 30 death 'is the result of any lack of oversight,' but should be a reminder of the vulnerable people who are at the center of the lawsuit. 'Often times, it seems that the issues that arise in a nursing facility are in the shadows,' he said. 'There's not any light shown on them and a lot of that has to do with the fragility of some people in nursing facilities who aren't able to raise these issues for themselves and who unfortunately often times die while waiting on the state to investigate their claims, or that complaint. That is quite common, I'm afraid.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Associated Press
19-02-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
California has known that disabled people need help in fires. After LA, can it better prepare?
When strong winds shattered the windows on the top floor of Nancy Busacca's Pasadena home, Michelle Hollis knew it was time to go. Hollis, Busacca's caretaker for the past year, packed the essentials. She tried to remain as calm as possible so as not to frighten Busacca, who, weakened by esophageal cancer, could not walk. As flames neared the home, Hollis first worried about smoke inhalation because Busacca used supplemental oxygen. At the same time, Hollis tried to figure out how she would lift Busacca into her SUV. Luckily, a second caregiver who had wrapped up her overnight shift had stayed to help. Hollis recalled turning to the second caregiver: 'I said, 'Hey, do you have faith?' And she was like, 'Yeah.' I said, 'Okay, we're gonna get through this.'' They did, but their experience in the wildfires that ravaged two Southern California communities last month served as another reminder of the threat that natural disasters pose for people with disabilities and limited mobility as well as their caregivers, who often take on the role of first responders in these situations. These dangers have been apparent for decades, especially since Hurricane Katrina, the most deadly natural disaster in recent U.S. history, leveled the Gulf Coast in 2005. In California, the deadly fires that struck Sonoma and Butte counties in 2017 and 2018 resurfaced these issues. A state audit from 2019 showed that historically, emergency response by state and county agencies have struggled to properly assist people with disabilities and limited mobility. Several of the people who were killed in the most recent Southern California wildfires were disabled and the majority were over 70, news reports identifying the victims show. The stories are tragic, but not surprising, aging and disability advocates say. 'Older adults and people with disabilities are often disproportionately impacted by wildfires due to factors like mobility limitations, chronic health conditions and social isolation, and that appears to be the case again in Los Angeles,' advocates wrote in a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature. In the letter, a coalition of 126 organizations that included the AARP, Justice in Aging and the Alzheimer's Association, asked the governor and lawmakers to prioritize disabled and older residents as the state distributes wildfire recovery funds. The request to the state is less about a specific dollar amount and more about creating a recovery process with this population in mind, said Hagar Dickman, director of long-term services and support advocacy at Justice in Aging. Advocates and caregivers also want more resources and centralized planning to prepare for the next disaster. As climate change fuels more frequent and more devastating events, prompt action is key, they say. County officials are still assessing the effect of the fires on people with disabilities and the elderly, said Laura Trejo, director of the Los Angeles County Aging and Disabilities department. Part of that work, she said, is checking in with nursing homes and assisted living facilities on their relocation and reentry efforts; it also involves calling and checking in on people who live at home and receive county services or participate in a county program, such as in-home help or transportation services. The biggest challenge has been the scale of it all, Trejo said. 'In over 35 years of doing this work in Los Angeles County, I have never had that many facilities evacuated at the same time, that was unprecedented.' The January fires prompted some 2,500 people to be evacuated from nursing homes alone, according to Trejo's department's latest counts, she said. Nursing home and assisted living residents were temporarily sent to emergency shelters, and later relocated to facilities where they could stay more long-term. It is unknown exactly how many people with a disability or limited mobility who were living at home were displaced by the fires because there isn't one centralized way to track them. The governor's office referred questions about resources and plans specific to this population to the California Office of Emergency Services. The office did not reply to questions from CalMatters. In a press release from last month the governor's office listed a number of efforts that state agencies are participating in, including wellness checks on people with developmental disabilities and facility inspections on nursing homes and assisted living centers to ensure a safe reentry. Tailoring emergency response for unique needs People with physical and cognitive disabilities have needs that aren't usually met with traditional emergency response. Many cannot drive. Some may not fully understand the risk they are in. 'The thing for people with disabilities is that the ability to, at the last minute, throw something together and get out of harm's way, you cannot rely on that,' said Silvia Yee, policy director at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund. 'That won't happen. So the planning has to be there.' In a 2019 report, the state auditor said that California was not adequately prepared to protect and respond to vulnerable populations during a natural disaster. A look at three counties — Butte, Sonoma and Ventura — showed deficiencies in wildfire evacuation warnings. It also found that none of the counties had done assessments of their respective populations' needs or pre-arranged for evacuation assistance. 'Inadequate preparation likely hindered the counties' responses to the 2018 Camp Fire, the 2017 Sonoma Complex fires, and the 2017 Thomas Fire,' the report said. The issues that people with disabilities face in emergency situations have been widely known for some time, but the urgency to improve plans seems to come and go, Yee said. 'Periodically, something happens,' Yee said. 'People are appalled. Advances are made, and then we just fall back. We don't advance in terms of implementation and enforcement.' County officials and advocates have a number of improvements they'd like to see. Dickman at Justice in Aging said one of her concerns during the January fires was the seeming lack of preparation in evacuation centers to accommodate disabled and older adults. When nursing home residents were taken to the Pasadena Convention Center, for example, news reports showed a shortage of cots and basic supplies, such as respirators and incontinence products. 'These are individuals who need a significant amount of support and durable medical equipment,' she said. 'Shelters or emergency centers need to be prepared to receive individuals from all kinds of areas with all kinds of needs.' Trejo with the Los Angeles County's Aging and Disability department — a fairly new agency — said she'd like to expand emergency education efforts and take the 'vial of life' protocol to scale. A vial of life refers to a packet that includes all of a person's medical information. The state's Department of Aging has an emergency preparedness guide that includes a vial of life that people can print and fill out. Ideally every home would have one, Trejo said. She'd also like to create a tool for people who want to self-identify as having unique needs. That way local agencies know where these people live even if they're not enrolled in a county program or service. Some disasters, such as earthquakes, hit without warning, but fires may allow for more thought-out evacuations. 'If we're pre-evacuating an area then we would know 'in this area we have 25 people that live alone who are mobility challenged and who we need to assist earlier,'' Trejo said. Janie Whiteford, president of the California In-Home Supportive Services Consumer Alliance, is 80 years old and a quadriplegic. In the past she has relied on her local fire department in Los Gatos to help her or her husband. 'I think it is super important that your local fire department knows who you are,' Whiteford said. 'Our guys know me well because I've fallen out of my wheelchair a couple of times and I've called them when I can't get back up. I've said 'Put me on your list. If we have an earthquake and it's a bad one, I want you guys to call me or come and check on me.'' Whiteford imagines a system where first responders or a separate local agency can immediately call people with disabilities and check in. 'In a perfect world, you would have an organization that would have vehicles that could go out to help these people, or would know exactly who to contact,' she said. 'Some type of rapid response taxis.' In large events, first responders may not be able to check in on individuals right away. For that reason it is also important for people and their caregivers to build their own response team of nearby family and friends or neighbors who know about people's limitations, said Yee at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund. 'You have to build the community around you to survive this kind of situation,' Yee said, 'Because it's not always going to be the police or the fire department riding to the rescue.' Training caregivers for the next disaster Hollis didn't have an evacuation plan in place as the Eaton fire approached, but more than 30 years of experience as a caregiver both in California and in her home state of North Carolina prepared her to think quickly and keep calm in the face of the Eaton fire. Her original plan was to get Busacca in the car and drive to a hotel. But as she packed, she and the second caregiver flagged down a police officer who was ordering residents to evacuate. The officer called for Emergency Medical Services to pick up Busacca. After about a 30-minute wait, Busacca was taken to the hospital for evaluation, Hollis said. Hollis feels grateful they were able to get out safely. Busacca died on Jan. 31 from cancer; she was able to come home for her final days. While difficult to plan a smooth evacuation, Hollis believes emergency training for caregivers could be of significant value in thinking through different scenarios. In many ways, caregivers are also first responders, but emergency training for them is often overlooked. Some training courses for caregivers exist, although the availability of these can vary by county and depend on funding. The Center for Caregiver Advancement creates and provides training programs for caregivers, including those who work in nursing homes and those who provide care at home. One of its courses focuses on climate change and emergency planning. The organization is currently offering its emergency planning course to workers of the In-Home Supportive Services program in San Bernardino County as part of a partnership with the labor union SEIU, which represents caregivers. Corinne Eldridge, the chief executive at Center for Caregiver Advancement, said her organization has so far provided the emergency planning course to about 4,000 In-Home Supportive Services workers across the state since 2021 – that's out of approximately 600,000 caregivers in this workforce. Stories of the victims in the LA fires show that more preparedness is needed, said Nairi Issagholian, an instructor with the center. The emergency course she teaches gets providers to assess their skills, abilities and communication plans. It helps them go over scenarios they may come across in an emergency, such as losing electricity and with that access to an elevator or ventilators. The course also teaches providers how to recognize the signs of trauma following an emergency. The idea is to help caregivers feel more prepared and self-assured before, during and after, Issagholian said. 'When the emergency happens, just that sense of a little control can make you feel like 'I'm prepared. I know what I'm doing,'' she said. 'It can give you that confidence.'
