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  • Legalization Of Illegal Immigrants Could Affect Your Benefits

    If adopted, the Social Security Administration Fairness Act would accomplish the following: .Check plans offering gap coverage but don't be surprised if you wouldn't save much. If your new prescription will cost enough to put you into the doughnut hole coverage gap, check the cost of plans with additional gap coverage. But if your main expense is an expensive brand name prescription, gap coverage may not save enough to make up for the higher cost of premiums. Most only cover some generics. Get unbiased help comparing your coverage by calling your Area Agency on Aging and asking for the help of a State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) counselor, or visit online at: https://shipnpr.shiptalk.org/. .In a recent survey of TSCL's supporters, as many as one-third of respondents said they postponed filling their prescriptions or took less than prescribed due to high costs. They question why Congress hasn't taken action to improve the system and to protect the American public from rising drug costs. … Continued

  • Best Ways Save February March 2019

    This year, I am currently gathering support for the Medicare Advantage Quality Payment Relief Act, which would require the HHS Secretary to take Medicare Advantage Quality Incentive payments out of the calculation of the Medicare Advantage benchmark cap. This will allow high performing plans to receive the quality payments that they rightfully earned and to use those payments to improve beneficiary care. .Individuals at full retirement age (66 in 2017) who retire with an average monthly benefit of ,300 would receive about 0,000 over a 25-year retirement assuming a 2.2% cost-of-living adjustment. Since you were born in 1955, your full retirement age is 66 + 2 months. But even people who retire at full retirement age are leaving money on the table when starting benefits prior to reaching age 70. Waiting until age 70 allows benefits to grow 8% per year. .Recommended reading: "Get What's Yours - The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security," Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Philip Moeller, Paul Solman, and "How to Make Your Money Last: The Indispensable Retirement Guide," Jane Bryant Quinn. … Continued

The CBO estimates that replacing Medicare with a premium support system would save the federal government as much as 5 billion over ten years.[3] The CBO also estimates that premiums paid by affected beneficiaries, however, would be about 30 percent higher on average by 2020 than the current projected Part B premium. In addition, the CBO said that shifting seniors to private plans would affect access to providers, a problem that many seniors are experiencing with Medicare Advantage plans now. .The deal will likely move to the House and Senate for a vote before the Presidents Day recess begins. .The TSCL Board of Trustees and staff are all dedicated to helping seniors. The following services provided by TSCL are considered primary and essential to the betterment of the quality of life of our nation's senior citizens: .The fact is there isn't much information yet— even though doctors and their staff are reporting huge amounts of data mandated by the 2010 health law. Based on what I've been able to learn, the Administration is still tinkering with the system. .28% Of Medicare Beneficiaries Hit Doughnut Hole In 2015 .Passing a short-term funding bill to keep the government operating past September 30th is the last major hurdle lawmakers must tackle before the November elections. It remains to be seen whether or not they will successfully negotiate a CR before the quickly approaching deadline. In the days ahead, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) will keep a close eye on the talks since failing to pass a CR would likely impact Social Security beneficiaries and Medicare doctors negatively. For updates, visit the Legislative News section of our website. .CBO's current estimate of the Old Age and Survivor's Insurance fund's exhaustion date is 2031, one year earlier than its estimate was in 201If current laws generally did not change, CBO estimated the balance of the Disability Insurance fund would be exhausted in 2026. .There is widespread support among older Americans for a benefit boost. TSCL surveys have found that 83% of survey participants think Congress should increase Social Security benefits by about 2% of the average benefit, roughly per month (0) in 202Sixty-two percent of survey participants also favor a more generous annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) by tying the annual inflation adjustment to the Consumer-Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), and 50% favor enacting a guarantee that COLAs would never be lower than 3%. .There are now efforts for legislation to boost domestic manufacturing of pharmaceutical products. There is a new measure that would require the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to "convene a committee of experts to analyze the impact of U.S. dependence" on foreign medicines and to make recommendations to Congress. There is also an effort to use the fiscal 2021 defense authorization bill to strengthen U.S.-based pharmaceutical manufacturing and advance "make it in America" policies that favor domestic drug-production plants.