Social Security has launched a new online tool that will help you avoid costly errors that could reduce your benefits. The Retirement Estimator gives estimates based on your actual Social Security earnings record. Please keep in mind that these are just estimates. We can’t provide your actual benefit amount until you apply for benefits. And that amount may … Read more
SALEM, Ore.—For the purpose of determining workers compensation benefits, a claimant’s “regular work” includes overtime, Oregon’s Court of Appeals ruled has ruled. The case of Compensation of Judy A. Cole vs. Thrifty Payless Inc. dba Rite Aid Corp. addresses the claim of a warehouse worker who suffered a back injury. http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20111216/NEWS08/111219917?tags=%7C63%7C309%7C70%7C75%7C258%7C304%7C92
Technical Fix for Social Security may reduce benefits significantly over the long haul according to this opinion post in The Nation by William Greider. Do you agree? The ugly part of this gimmick is that it punishes most severely the very people who most need help. http://www.thenation.com/blog/164450/technical-fix-social-security-will-shrink-benefits-poor
I came across an article a few weeks ago related to poverty that caught my attention. In turn a reader wrote in a response to the editorial that brought up a point about whether stay at home moms should be eligible to “earn” credits within the SSD “bank”. Here are some of the highlights from … Read more
Persons with disabilities contributed to in a material way by drug addiction and/or alcoholism (DA&A) lost Title 11 and SSI payments and Medicare and Medicaid eligibility under the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996. The standard for determining whether DA&A “materially contributes” to a disability has been around since 1994. Under the standard, DA&A … Read more
If a person is injured due to the negligence or fault of another, compensation for the consequences of the injury is called “damages.” Such compensation for a work injury is called “benefits.” This article explains how damages for a personal injury negligence claim (most commonly an auto accident) differ from benefits received as a result … Read more
The patient you are treating was just in a wreck. He/she has serious injuries: obviously, in no shape to return to work, perhaps for a couple of weeks or more. Yet -“Doc, I gotta work. Gotta feed my family, pay the bills… “. Such patients may get help from personal injury protection (PIP) income loss … Read more
Physicians and their office staffs are often frustrated by the Personal Injury Protection (PIP) system. You may want to pass this article on to the head of your billing office. All auto liability policies in Oregon are required to provide PIP (no fault) coverage for prompt payment of reasonable and necessary medical expenses resulting from … Read more