[Nfbmo] KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Northland woman speaks up to help others, and it involves Missouri's blind pension

Eugene S. Coulter escoulter at centurytel.net
Fri Jul 18 17:48:26 UTC 2014


Actually FSD doesn't play games the hard fact is they don't have near enough 
staffing which also results in massive turnover compounding the problems and 
making it probable that there are not staff who know about Blind Pension. It 
is true that paperwork sits around  until they can get to it and as a result 
increases the likelihood that papers will get lost.
The best practice is to complete the forms as soon as you know you have them 
and take them IN person along with proof of income , bank accounts, and life 
insurance  to your local FSD office.
Ask the receptionist if you can see someone there to complete the paperwork. 
If they won't let you have an interview tell them you need them to date 
stamp the form and make a copy of the front page and give that back to you.
In reality a certified letter doesn't guarantee you  a ton. While it does 
prove you sent something to FSD it does not prove what. However, if you 
cannot go into the office a certified letter is better than regular mail as 
logic says what else would you be sending them but logic doesn't always 
apply.
An important point that is not made clear to recipients is that if someone 
at FSD tells you that you Have a June review that is the date for FSD to 
complete the review. Client's actually receive the review in the month 
before by the 8th and MUST complete and return the form by the end of  of 
that month; in this case  the form is sent out May 5 and needed to be back 
by May 31 or a closing notice goes out. This is why I say over and over 
return the form the day you get it.
.
I do think the statement by the DSS spokeswoman is absolutely bogus that 
they accommodate disabled people.
Gene

-----Original Message----- 
From: Bryan Schulz via Nfbmo
Sent: Friday, July 18, 2014 12:06 PM
To: NJ Lynn ; NFB of Missouri Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] KANSAS CITY,Mo. - A Northland woman speaks up to help 
others,and it involves Missouri's blind pension

hi,

Since DFS enjoys playing games and will let applications lay on a desk until
your deadline has passed, the best insurance is to send your reply by
certified mail that requires a signature and verifies when your information
was received.
Bryan Schulz


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "NJ Lynn via Nfbmo" <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
To: "nfbmo list" <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, July 18, 2014 10:07 AM
Subject: [Nfbmo] KANSAS CITY,Mo. - A Northland woman speaks up to help
others,and it involves Missouri's blind pension


  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Northland woman speaks up to help others, and it
involves Missouri's blind pension.

  The North Kansas City woman says it's a systematic problem that could
impact others too.

  Wendy Poth, 60, has been blind since she was seven years old. She receives
blind pension benefits, but was recently cut off due to circumstances out of
her control.

  "When I thought I had myself in a very secure situation, where I could
live here alone, take care of myself adequately, and have nothing to be
concerned about, all of that was lost," Poth said.

  The blind pension is a monthly stipend plus Medicaid for those who are
blind, and do not have more than $20,000 in assets.

  "There is a systemic problem in the state of Missouri regarding blind
pension," said Poth.

  Once a year, each person must re-certify. So in April, Poth called and
asked when her review was and she said they told her June. She never heard
from them. She got nervous and called the 800 number in Jefferson City and
told them she never received anything regarding her pension for the upcoming
year.

  "And they said well, actually, we sent something on May fifth and you did
not fill it out or return it, so we have cut you off as of June 13," Poth
said.

  She says many questions went through her mind.

  "How could this have happened without me knowing it? If I hadn't called
you how would I have found out?" she said. "I was sitting there thinking I
was going to be able to pay my rent and get my medications come the first of
next month, and wow, I wasn't!"

  Deborah Babbitt is a social worker, and has been helping Poth. She says
even she can't get a straight answer from Missouri Social Services.

  "They're making it very difficult for the most needy and the most
vulnerable of the population to have access to benefits that they're
entitled to," said Babbitt.

  "You would think that by 2014, blind pension would say oh what a concept,
let's call these people," said Poth.

  Poth's reinstatement could've taken up to 90 days. She currently has no
other income, meaning for three months she's in a financial crisis. She says
she never received that letter.

  "Did it get to the building into the wrong mailbox? Or did I, ha, not see
it?" she said.

  Poth says fixing her problem is just a small part of finding a widespread
solution. She wants to prevent this from happening to others.

  On Wednesday, FOX 4 reached out to Missouri Social Services.

  "As needs for accommodations vary for individuals with disabilities, we
provide the opportunity for clients to contact us to request
assistance/accommodations and we respond to those requests as appropriate,"
said a Missouri Social Services spokeswoman.

  Poth told FOX 4 that shortly after her story aired, social services called
her notifying her she has since been reinstated.



  Filed in: News

  Topics: blind, Deborah Babbitt, Medicaid, Missouri Social Services,
Missouri's blind pension, North Kansas City, Wendy Poth

  So what is the difference between a blind pension and disability?

  July 17, 2014 at 12:02 pm Reply Report comment

  Leave a Reply Cancel reply
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