The Public Benefits and General Services Unit (PBGS) ensures that seniors receive the income, benefits, and services to which they are entitled that enable them to live independently in the community. The PBGS staff represents clients in cases involving public benefits and income maintenance issues.

PBGS staff assist clients whose benefits or services have been threatened with termination, terminated, decreased or overpaid through representation at all stages of the appeal process including personal conferences, requests for reconsideration, and fair hearings before the Office of Administrative Hearings.

Our Services
The PBGS staff represents clients in cases involving public benefits and income maintenance issues. Such cases include, but are not limited to:

- Social Security Administration (SSA)
Initial applications and appeals: Social Security Retirement, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability, Overpayments
- Department of Human Services (DHS), Economic Security Administration (ESA), Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF): Medicaid, Medicare, Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB)
Home Health Care Services such as Personal Care Aide (PCA) services, Elderly and Persons with Physical Disabilities (EPD) Waiver, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (formerly food stamps), Other Retirement Benefits (Federal, Private, and other.
- Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Benefits (specific areas only): Non Service Connected VA Pension Claims, Aid & Attendance, Rating Claims for VA Pension Eligible Veterans, Service Connected, Disability Compensation Claims for Presumed Conditions, Enrollment in E-Benefits Portal, Overpayments

Public Benefits Checkup
PBGS staff also assists clients in determining what public benefits and services they are entitled to receive by conducting Public Benefits Checkups and assisting clients in applying for those identified benefits and services.

Other Services
Small consumer cases (such as public utilities, hearing aids, credit card debt, banking problems, student loans)
Collection cases
Other general cases that do not fall squarely within other specific LCE programs