News

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending May 3 2013

    Finally, one new cosponsor – Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) – signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 1795) this week, bringing the total up to one hundred and fourteen. If signed into law, the bill would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – two federal provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of state and local government employees each year. .Following the Thanksgiving recess – on Wednesday, November 30th – Democrats in the House will elect their party leaders. Republicans in both chambers and Democrats in the Senate chose their leadership teams last week. In the 115th Congress, they will be led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY), Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (NY), and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (WI-1), among others. .He said the out-of-pocket costs that patients are paying need to be fixed and that pharmaceutical company executives would be willing to help cover the cost of such reform. However, he said they want to ensure their contributions would go directly toward lowering patient costs and not into the federal budget to be used for other things. … Continued

  • S 469 Affordable Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act

    TSCL agrees that the IPAB should be repealed before it is triggered to begin making cost-cutting recommendations to Congress. Even though the Affordable Care Act forbids the board from "rationing" care, cutting Medicare benefits, or increasing premiums, TSCL is concerned that cuts to providers could result in increased costs for beneficiaries or decreased access to quality medical care. .TSCL is particularly concerned about adding significant new long-term permanent costs to Social Security and Medicare by providing temporary work authorization to millions of people who worked illegally prior to gaining authorization. The high degree of uncertainty about the potential future costs was made evident months before Obama ever announced the executive action in November of last year. .One new cosponsor – Rep. Denny Heck (WA-10) – signed on to Rep. Allyson Schwartz's (PA-13) Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act (H.R. 574) this week, bringing the total up to thirty-three. The bill, if signed into law, would repeal and replace the faulty formula that is currently used to determine reimbursements for physicians who treat Medicare patients. … Continued

TSCL is continuing to work hard for any and all legislation that would accomplish those goals. .Between age 55 and 64, it's as if our body's warranty expires and everything just crashes. By the time we turn 65 and eligible for Medicare, chances are we may have a chronic health condition that requires regular check-ups. Often, it's insidiously hard to tell whether a problem really is serious or whether it's just a "natural part of growing older," which in any case feels just as crummy. .Unlike the temporary payroll tax cuts, which wouldn't affect Social Security's finances, the diversion of Social Security contributions into private accounts would substantially reduce the amount of money available to pay current beneficiaries. This "privatization" of Social Security contributions would drain the Social Security Trust Fund in short order and require the transfer of TRILLIONS of dollars from the U.S. Treasury into the Social Security Trust Fund in the coming decades to continue paying current benefits. .Commodities and Services Pricing Survey, an establishment survey of businesses selling goods and services to consumers, used to provide the price data for the CPI .Individuals with incomes below ,000, and whose Part B premiums are automatically deducted from their Social Security benefits, are protected from a reduction in their Social Security benefits when Part B premiums increase more than their Social Security benefits. The provision was triggered twice in recent years, in 2016 when there was no COLA, and in 2017 when the COLA was just 0.3%. .In view of what happened and the substantial differential in pure dollar terms, TSCL believes "The Notch Fairness Act" is a fair, and even modest settlement for those who were affected by the Notch. "The Notch Fairness Act" would provide those born from 1917 through 1926 the option of choosing ,000 payable over a five year period or an improved monthly benefit. .Payroll taxes, and the taxes that people pay on a portion of their Social Security benefits, are two major sources of program funding. The Social Security Trust Fund also receives interest payments from the U.S. Treasury for the money that the federal government has borrowed when the program was in surplus. In fact, the .Despite the coronavirus emergency, TSCL is continuing its fight for you to protect your Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits. We have had to make some adjustments in the way we carry on our work, but we have not, and will not stop our work on your behalf. .While disability benefits may pay slightly more than early retirement benefits at age 63, starting the disability application and determination process is an arduous, bureaucratic procedure that can take a long time before benefits actually start — sometimes years. Many people find they must hire an attorney. According to data from the Social Security Administration, only one quarter of applicants are determined eligible for disability benefits the first time they apply. Filing an appeal has about 49% chance of succeeding, but the process can result in long waiting periods to be found eligible for benefits, which often takes more than two years. By the time your husband might be found eligible for disability benefits, he may only receive them for a year or two before he would age into his full retirement benefit.