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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the $787 billion stimulus package that President Barack Obama signed into law February 17, 2009, includes a number of provisions that help the elderly in need as well as the economy. Here are the highlights:
- A one-time payment of $250 in the form of a tax rebate to Social Security recipients, Supplemental Security Income recipients, and veterans receiving disability and pensions. For details, click here;
- $87 billion to temporarily increase the federal Medicaid match to states (FMAP), which could help many adults who receive long-term care services through Medicaid. For details, click here;
- An increasse in the reverse mortgage loan limit to $625,500, from the former limit of $417,000, for the rest of 2009. For details, click here;
- An additional $120 million for the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP);
- An extension until December 2010 for the Qualified Individual (QI) program that pays Medicare Part B premiums for certain low-income Medicare beneficiaries. For details, click here;
- $100 million for grants to states for elderly nutrition services, including Meals on Wheels and Congregate Meals;
For a link to the full text of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which is more than 1,000 pages long, go to: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s1/show
Con artists have wasted no time in figuring out how to use the stimulus package to bilk Americans out of what little money they may have left. For a Los Angeles Times article, “Don’t get taken by these stimulus scams,” click here.
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