Most people think they should wear red on February 14th, for that terrible, horrible, no good, very bad, Hallmark holiday (flowers that were never delivered two years ago, a boyfriend who neglected to call last year…I have the right to be bitter, ok?). Really, there is a much better reason to dress in crimson and … Read more
Last week I was in Los Angeles. More specifically, I was sitting outside on a patio in Santa Monica with a view of the ocean. This week? Well, things have been a hazy shade of winter. In case you haven’t heard, DC has had a “little” snow the past few days. The masses are beginning … Read more
Because I’m a government employee, I’ve gotten emails from time to time from friends of mine who are trying to figure out something government-related and assume I have all the answers. And because I work in the office that runs USA.gov, I can usually point my friends in the right direction. Last week a friend … Read more
We all know that regular exercise is good for us, but sometimes we feel like we have to be marathon runners to benefit from it. Let’s face it, most of us aren’t in any shape for a marathon or triathlon, but here’s the good news: I heard a news story last week about how regular, … Read more
It’s tax season once again, and time to gather all the forms and tax records you’ll need to file your tax return. One of the most important documents you’ll need is your W-2 form. We always hear from a lot of people who didn’t get their W-2’s and don’t know what to do. So if you haven’t received your W-2 yet, read on.
To join the conversation, visit the dialog tools of the agencies that interest you. The U.S. General Services Administration has provided the technology, powered by IdeaScale under a free citizen engagement license, to federal agencies to make it easier for
you to engage with each agency. Representatives from each agency will be listening and
will use your ideas as they develop their plans.
Want to be a part of an international project? Look no further than your own backyard! Tomorrow is the start of the 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, when beginning bird watchers and experts alike across North America count the wild birds they see in their backyards, parks, or wildlife refuges.
Even though I rarely use credit in the check out line, credit card debt is part of my life. I can’t say that I completely understand my monthly statement (I just pay it) but hopefully the next one will make more sense.
Today is Groundhog Day and like the thousands of people gathered at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, I’m eager to hear if Phil sees his shadow. According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he doesn’t see his shadow, there will be an early … Read more
Happy President’s Day! Speaking of presidents, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant all have monuments on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Established in 1965, the National Mall and Memorial Parks protects some of the older parkland in the National Park System and accomdates 24 million visitors a year.
As you all know, the Washington, DC area is under siege with Snowmageddon 2010, and the federal government in the DC area is officially closed
Federal law in prohibiting insurers from adjusting premiums
Most Medicare beneficiaries will not see a Part B monthly premium increase as a result of a “hold harmless” provision in the current law. This allows for 73 percent of beneficiaries to be protected from an increase raising the 2010 Part B monthly premiums from $96.40 to $110.50.
CMS uses five different provider and supplier enrollment applications. In general, Part A providers are required to use the CMS-855A to enroll or update their enrollment information
For 2009, CMS improved how it reviews Medicare claims for inpatient hospital services and eliminated the use of past billing records as part of a complex medical review. As a result of this heightened scrutiny and more complete accounting of Medicare FFS claims, CMS is reporting a 2009 FFS error rate of 7.8 percent, or $24.1 billion, compared to 3.6 percent in 2008. In addition, for 2009:
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that for the first time since 1999, the agency has ended the year with fewer disability hearings pending than in the prior year. Social Security ended fiscal year (FY) 2009 with 722,822 hearings pending compared to 760,813 hearings pending at the start of the year, a reduction of more than 37,000 cases. Over the same period, the average processing time for these cases improved from 514 days in FY 2008 to 491 in FY 2009.
With consumer prices down over the past year, monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 57 million Americans will not automatically increase in 2010. This will be the first year without an automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) since they went into effect in 1975.