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  • Government Waste At Its Worst

    This tax season is likely to be more uncertain for taxpayers of all ages due to the impact of COVID-19 on business closures, loss of income from earnings and wages, a temporary waiver of minimum distributions from retirement accounts, high medical costs for some people, confusion over tax treatment of working from home, and how stimulus payments and program benefits such as unemployment should be treated for tax purposes. .A Humana Medicare Advantage plan in Florida improperly collected nearly 0 million in payments in 2015 by overstating how sick some of its enrollees were. A new audit by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is seeking to get the money back. If successful, the audit penalty would be what has been described as "by far the largest" ever imposed on a Medicare Advantage company. But Humana has sharply disputed the OIG's findings, and has said that the recommendations "do not represent final determinations, and Humana will have the right to appeal." .TSCL continues to support re-importation of drugs more than general importation of drugs made in other countries. And, while we also support imported medicines made in other countries, we strongly insist that the drugs be certified to be sure they are pure and contain only the ingredients they are supposed to have. … Continued

  • About Us Board And Staff Thomas A Oconnell Secretary

    TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 2305 and H.R. 3118, and we were pleased to see support grow for both of them this week. .While Part D and Medicare Advantage have proven popular with seniors, nobody is lining up at the doors during the fall Open Enrollment to shop for and compare plans. The vast majority of beneficiaries, more than 80% according to TSCL Senior Surveys, don't compare their Part D or Medicare Advantage plan, and consequently don't reap any savings from competition between plans. If Congress were to convert all of Medicare to premium support in the future, the devil will be in the funding details — finding the balance between saving the federal government money while still keeping the program affordable for beneficiaries. And so far premium support hasn't been any magic bullet for reducing federal spending on Medicare. .Support Grows for Notch Fairness Act … Continued

Are you the parent or spouse of someone with special needs? Permanent life insurance can make sure a child or spouse will have financial support when you are gone. .How Does TSCL Project the Social Security COLA? .TSCL Endorses Social Security Administration Fairness Act ."The high cost of prescription drugs forces people to do what we shouldn't have to do, like ordering drugs from Canada," says Susan. "I have a friend who went without one of her prescriptions because she didn't have the money, and she died of a stroke. Our government is not doing what it's supposed to do. It's a constant struggle and my husband hasn't retired yet because of our concern about the costs of his prescription drugs for which he currently gets good coverage from his job." .Sources: "Social Security Benefits Related to Unauthorized Work," SSA Office of the Inspector General, March 2003, A-03-03-2305"Illegal Immigrant Crackdown Looms," Nicole Gaouette, The Los Angeles Times, August 3, 200 .The bill would limit price increases in drugs covered by Medicare Part D plans to the rate of inflation or drug makers would be forced to pay a penalty in the form of a rebate. "Since Social Security benefits only grow at the rate of inflation, it would help level the playing field if the cost of prescription medications were required to be adjusted in like fashion," Johnson notes. Research on typical retiree costs conducted by Johnson has found that from 2000 to 2019, annual cost – of – living adjustments (COLAs) increased Social Security benefits by 50 percent but spending on prescription drugs grew five times faster — 253 percent — over the same period. .I read that the Medicare Part D doughnut hole is closing. What does that mean? I recently started on Lantus insulin, which my drug plan covers, but with the other drugs I take, I expect to hit the doughnut hole with my April refill. .The deal will likely move to the House and Senate for a vote before the Presidents Day recess begins. .Older adults age 65 and up have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-1Because retirees depend on Social Security for a major share of their income, they tend to spend their benefits on essentials right away. We feel that boosting the inflation adjustment is an important way to get crucial extra cash to older Americans and back into our nation's economy.