Linh’s Story

“Linh” is a 79-year-old Limited English Proficient (LEP) Vietnamese speaker. In 2017, Linh traveled from Central Massachusetts to Vietnam to settle her ailing husband into long-term care there. Upon her return to Massachusetts, Linh became aware that she had miscalculated her travel schedule by one day and she had been out of the country for more than the 30 days allowed by Social Security regulations. As a result, Linh’s SSI, her only source of income, was terminated. MassHealth also terminated access to her health insurance. Linh tried to have her benefits restored but, due to her limited English, she was unsuccessful.

CLA’s Asian Outreach & Advocacy Project Attorney, Janet Vo, took Linh’s case. At the time of the Project’s intervention, Linh had run out of medication and could not visit her primary care provider since she did not have any income to pay out-of-pocket costs. Attorney Vo successfully negotiated with the Social Security Administration to reinstate Linh’s MassHealth benefits and to secure SSI payments retroactive to the period of termination.