News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending December 12 2014

    "Unfortunately for seniors and their families these extreme differences in cost are not unique," says Johnson. "Almost every Medicare beneficiary enrolled in a Part D drug or Medicare health plan can achieve savings if they carefully compare all their options every year and switch when they find better coverage," Johnson says. "All that's required is computer access, the Medicare Drug and Health Plan Compare tools on the Medicare website at www.medicare.gov and determination to give it a try," she notes. .But New Co-Pay "Tiers" May Raise Some Costs .This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for three key bills. … Continued

  • Social Security And Medicare Cuts Part Of Deficit Plan

    And then it added this, "In fact, the study found that some patients who see increased drug prices will indiscriminately cut back on all drugs—regardless of how impactful those drugs are on their health. .First, one new cosponsor – Representative Mike Quigley (IL-5) – signed on to the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 1205), bringing the total up to 19If adopted, H.R. 1205 would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – two provisions that unfairly reduce the Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, police officers, and other state and local government employees each year. It would ensure that public servants receive the Social Security benefits they have earned and deserve. .TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 1391 since it would strengthen the program without cutting benefits for seniors. We were pleased to see support grow for it this week. … Continued

One widely-discussed proposal would limit the drop in benefits when a spouse dies to 75% of the couple's combined benefit. In the example above that would boost the widow's benefit by 0 per month to ,800. .The President's final memo waives all interest on student loans held by the federal government through the end of 2020 and allows people to delay payments until Dec. 3This will help those who are repaying student loans. .Protecting Medicare for current beneficiaries and saving it for future generations is one of my most important responsibilities as a Member of Congress. It is no secret that demographic and economic factors will not allow us to continue the program unaltered. There are 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day, and when these programs were first enacted there were more than 40 workers for every 1 retiree. Today, that number is below 3 workers per retiree and headed towards 2 to Health care costs continue to rise much faster than inflation. In order to ensure the solvency of a program that senior citizens have come to rely on, changes must be made. The days of doing nothing, burying our heads in the sand, and pretending the status quo is sustainable are over. .Married living with spouse — annual income is less than ,360 (,030) and resources less than ,600 per year. .The FDA has also seen unauthorized fraudulent test kits for COVID-19 being sold online. Currently, the only way to be tested for COVID-19 is to talk to your health care provider. .The following Members of Congress, among others, will hold town halls this week: Sen. Michael Crapo (ID), Sen. Jerry Moran (KS), Sen. Mike Lee (UT), Rep. Frank Lucas (OK-3), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), and Rep. Donna Edwards (MD-4). .This week, lawmakers returned to Washington and quickly began working on legislation to stave off a government shutdown, which could occur on December 11th if Congress fails to reach a compromise. In addition, The Senior Citizens League saw two key bills gain support. .By Jessie Gibbons, Legislative Analyst .Allow states, wholesalers, and pharmacies to import FDA-approved drugs from foreign countries and sell them in the U.S. Trump has long complained that countries where the government sets the price of drugs are taking advantage of American consumers. The order includes a special provision to allow wholesalers and pharmacies to re-import insulin and biological drugs.