CWII News

Up one level

WID’s new Veterans’ Benefits 101 (VB101) Project to create online tools and information services for U.S. veterans with disabilities

Recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have increased the number of veterans with disabilities in the U.S., including many who have survived serious injuries due to medical and technological advances not available in previous wars. Like most people with disabilities, newly disabled veterans want to find a job, continue their education, raise a family or otherwise get on with living their lives. Also like many other people with disabilities, newly disabled veterans are faced with maneuvering the myriad of programs and services available to them to restart their lives and support their employment and educational goals, but many give up along the way or miss opportunities as a result of this complex maze of bureaucracies. To support both individual veterans and service providers to facilitate veterans’ smooth transition back to work and manage and maximize the programs, benefits, services and opportunities afforded veterans with disabilities, WID is building understandable, comprehensive, and interactive online tools so that veterans can take better control of their own benefits planning process.

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Summary and Updates

In late March of 2010, the U.S. Congress finished passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872). Soon after, President Obama signed these pieces of legislation into law, creating Public Law 111-148 (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) and Public Law 111-152 (the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010). Together, these laws are commonly known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These laws will result in significant reform of our nation’s health care system, including extending health care coverage to many more millions of Americans.

New Law Will Improve Medi-Cal for California Workers with Disabilities

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California signed AB 1269 into law just a few hours before the legal deadline on October 11, 2009. Staff for the bill’s author, Assemblymember Julia Brownley (Santa Monica), informed the bill’s sponsor, World Institute on Disability, WID, shortly after the bill became law. California residents who work and use Medi-Cal services reacted swiftly. “The changes made by this law will finally allow thousands of Californians with significant disabilities to go to work without jeopardizing vital health care that is not available under employer-sponsored health insurance, or Medicare coverage,” declared Alana Theriault, Director of Benefits Planning for Abilicorp, a disability-focused employment company.

Workforce Health and Productivity in Health Care Reform

Two day Workforce Health and Productivity Summit in November 2008 publishes its Workforce Summit Report. The World Institute on Disability (WID) was an active participant at this thought challenging two-day Summit focused on proactive health strategies and workplace health management. The Report's Executive Summary reflects WID's contributions when describing a workforce that includes those of us who live and work with long-term chronic conditions and disabilities. This is a report from corporate America, with WID contributions as a coherent partner, on topics of economic empowerment and the health we need to achieve it.

WID Launches The Veterans' Benefits Online Tools Project

The California Work Incentives Initiative at WID spent last fall working with six national veterans and disability organizations to produce a Veterans' Benefits Online Tools Findings Report. WID is very proud to share that we are using this report to start the planning to build a national online benefits tools and information services web site, so veterans can better navigate benefit programs and secure available employment as they transition to civilian life.

WID Releases Ground-Breaking Manual on Work Incentives and Benefits

State and federal rules on access to health coverage and benefits can bewilder even a Ph.D. Some programs, like Social Security disability benefits, have thousands of pages of laws and regulations governing them. Every program has its own unique set of rules on interaction with other programs. The resulting confusion can have a devastating impact on people using more than one program or contemplating a return to work. What can state agencies and other organizations do to help people with disabilities navigate this network and improve their lives? In a groundbreaking new manual—Work Incentives Information Services: Developing a State-Focused Training and Technical Assistance Center—the California Work Incentives Initiative (CWII) at the World Institute on Disability (WID) presents a clear blueprint on how to establish a technical assistance and training center (“TA Center”) addressing these issues.

DB101 Launches Upgraded Benefits to Work Calculator

Disability Benefits 101 (www.db101.org) at the World Institute on Disability has upgraded and launched a new 2.0 version of its Benefits to Work Calculator. The Benefits to Work Calculator shows how your benefits might change when taking a job, changing jobs or starting a business. The improved online calculator tool allows workers and job seekers to plan ahead with new features for more personal and real-life planning. Users can now compare new job offers and their impact on benefits and health coverage. DB101 also launched a newsletter, Employment Matters, news and views from DB101, to share related information on changing times, topics, programs and resources. DB101 visitors can use the subscription link to subscribe directly to the email newsletter.

New Tools and New Rules 2007

Seamless access to health care is a complicated but upfront quality of life issue for people with disabilities. While gaining independence is at the core of the struggle for affordable, accessible health care, many people find health care programs available to people with disabilities hard to work with. Read this article to learn more about policy for the 250% Working Disabled Program and new calculator tools.

DB101 Introduces Online Benefits Calculators

Disability Benefits 101 (DB101) at the World Institute on Disability has built online benefits calculators for people with disabilities, their families, as well as service providers and the employers who work with them. They are available at www.disabilitybenefits101.org/planning/.

Current Project: WID awarded contract from the Social Security Administration

In September 2005, the Social Security Administration awarded WID a contract to expand Disability Benefits 101 Information Services (DB101), part of WID's California Work Incentives Initiative (CWII). The Social Security contract enables the program to complete design, installation, integration and beta testing of DB101's Benefits Planning Sessions, six new user-friendly benefit planning scenarios with calculator features.