News

  • February 2014 Digital Journal

    The uncertainty of Senate passage of the new legislation to waive the cuts to Medicare comes about because of the 2010 Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, which requires across-the-board cuts, known as sequestration, to "mandatory" programs if any new legislation increases the deficit. .Fixing this problem seems to be more complicated than passing a continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has made it known that no Republican Senators will support raising the debt ceiling and without Republican support Democrats will have to resort to a special procedure called "reconciliation" in order to pass it because of the Senate filibuster rule. In the past there has been partisan squabbling over raising the debt ceiling but when it came right down to it both sides ended up voting to raise it. We'll find out very soon whether that will happen this time. .Members of the Finance Committee seemed receptive to Blum's suggestions on Wednesday, but it remains to be seen whether they will act in the coming months. Thus far, one of the greatest hurdles for lawmakers has been coming up with an offset to cover the cost of the repeal – the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the price tag will be nearly 0 billion over ten years. TSCL is hopeful that lawmakers will repeal and replace the SGR by the end of this year in order to preserve seniors' access to quality medical care. As the discussions evolve over the coming months, we will continue to post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website. … Continued

  • Weekly Update For Week Ending October 3 2020

    Changes to federal immigration policy affect the revenues that Social Security and Medicare receive and would also increase the number of people eligible for benefits in the future, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Both Social Security and Medicare face solvency and funding challenges. .This week, one new cosponsor – Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11) – signed on to the Social Security 2100 Act (H.R. 1902), bringing the total up to 16The bill, which was introduced just a couple of months ago, has more support in Congress than any other comprehensive Social Security reform bill to date. .Now I say neglect, because it's been 38 years since Congress has done anything to strengthen Social Security and 50 year since we have improved its benefits. … Continued

Have You Been Fully Vaccinated? .TSCL Supports Bill To Kill The Medicare Cutting Board .Ask about insurer discounts. When shopping, learn what the prospective insurer gives discounts for. Smoke detectors, burglar alarms and dead bolt locks can be worth a 5% premium discount. .Even though flying is a relatively low-risk activity, traveling should still be avoided unless absolutely necessary. .On Thursday evening, lawmakers in the House and Senate voted to pass a continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the federal government until Friday, December 22nd. TSCL is pleased that lawmakers successfully averted a government shutdown since failing to do so could have impacted the timely delivery of Social Security benefits. Physicians and other medical providers also could have seen delays in their reimbursements from the Medicare program if the federal government had shut down. .Increasing the amount of wages that is taxed for Social Security, which is currently limited to 7,200. Higher - wage earners currently pay no Social Security taxes at all on income earned over that amount. .But a COVID-19 vaccine will have an actual price tag. And given the prevailing business-centric model of American drug pricing, it could well be budget breaking, perhaps making it unavailable to many. .Although Part D plans are given leeway to vary how they structure their plans here is a breakdown of the standard Medicare Part D plan cost sharing in 2020: .Since you are still working and still under your full retirement age, you might consider reporting your estimated income to Social Security for 2019, and possibly for the months prior to turning your full retirement age next year. However, that would mean that your Social Security benefits would be withheld for even more months, and you might not receive any Social Security benefits at all in 201At the end of the year, you would have to notify Social Security of what you actually earned for 2019, and the calculation would be revised. If too much was withheld, you would get a refund. If not enough was withheld, you would have to pay the difference. Once you turn your full retirement age then, you will be able to earn as much as you want, and not be subject to Social Security earnings restriction rules for new earnings after turning age 66.