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America’s Health Insurance Plan, a trade association, offers a helpful Guide to Disability Income Insurance.

The federal government pays benefits planners in communities around the country to help people think ahead about benefits issues. The Social Security Administration (SSA) replaced the Benefits Planning Assistance and Outreach Project (BPAO) with the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) Program in October of 2006.

The new program emphasizes work incentives over work supports for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries. Benefits planners who are funded by SSA and trained under this new program are called Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWIC's).

To find a benefits planner near you, use DB101's Benefits Planners Directory.

Various community-based organizations provide staff to work with people concerning a range of options on state, federal, public, and private health and income programs. Counseling about benefits, as a community service, is an emerging field of expertise with different levels of services available. Some organizations may work with specific populations while others work with individuals with any type of disability.

Goodwill Industries services range from personal evaluation and office skills training to career counseling, childcare, and transportation. Some of these centers conduct Benefits Planning Assistance and Outreach for Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries related to work activity.

Find locations at http://www.goodwill.org, or by calling (voice) 800-664-6577.

The California Foundation for Independent Living Centers lists 29 centers serving individuals with all disabilities. Many of these centers conduct Benefits Planning Assistance and Outreach for Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries related to work activity. Most independent living centers can refer callers to local benefit program information if they do not have these services.

Find the list of independent living centers at http://www.cfilc.org, or by calling (voice) 916-325-1690 or (TTY) 916-325-1695.

The AIDS Hotline database contains 1,300 organizations providing HIV/AIDS services throughout California. Some of these organizations offer case management, benefits planning, and benefits counseling services that can include assistance with public and private benefits programs.

Find the list of AIDS organizations at http://www.aidshotline.org, or by calling (voice) 800-367-AIDS (2437) or (TTY) 888-225-AIDS (2437).

Protection and Advocacy, Inc. (PAI), a federally funded program in all states, provides representation for consumers of public programs who are disabled. Website publications include topics on health care, benefit programs, and In Home Supportive Services. PAI’s Protection & Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) Program protects the legal rights of Social Security beneficiaries in their efforts to return to work.