News
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Congressional Corner Its Bigger Than Martin Shkreli
Provides better payroll data collection to reduce improper payments due to work. .Budgeting for changes in health as we age is a challenge. What we can do, though, is give you some pointers in estimating your current costs and setting a healthcare cost budget. .Sources: "Homeowners Insurance Buying Guide," Consumer Reports, January 201"15 Surprising Consumer Actions & Beliefs Related To Homeowner's Insurance," PropertyCasualty360.com, March 28, 2017. … Continued
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Legislative Update For Week Ending October 28 2011
Homeowners: Are You Covered For The Next Disaster? Maybe Not .Use call block technology. If you have a smart phone, you can block calls from unknown numbers. Some land line phones also have similar technology. .If signed into law, the Strengthening Social Security Act would amend title II of the Social Security Act to adjust the benefit formula, resulting in a more generous monthly Social Security benefit. It would also change the way that cost-of-living adjustments are calculated by adopting a Consumer Price Index for the Elderly, and it would lift the cap on income subject to the payroll tax. … Continued
I'm a divorced retiree and I file taxes as a single household. Can you tell me why my benefits are taxed and how the income threshold that subjects Social Security benefits to tax is set? People who have adjusted gross incomes of ,000 (individual) can barely cover living expenses, let alone taxes too. Is there anything I can do to reduce this tax? .On halting evictions, the President has said many times in recent days he wants to prevent them. The President called for Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield to "consider" whether an eviction ban is needed. .Source: "Audits Of Some Medicare Advantage Plans Reveal Pervasive Overcharging," Fred Schulte, Center For Public Integrity," NPR, August 29, 201"Medicare Advantage: Fundamental Improvements Needed in CMS's Effort to Recover Substantial Amounts of Improper Payments, Government Accountability Office, April 2016. .That's because COLAs are currently based upon the way young, urban workers, rather than seniors spend their money. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses an inflation index called the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). It regularly underestimates the spending inflation that seniors experience since it fails to capture the rising costs of medical care, upon which older Americans spend a disproportionate share of their income. .To qualify for special enrollment in a Marketplace plan, your husband will need to select a plan within 60 days after losing his job-based coverage. If you need coverage in the time between losing job-based coverage and beginning coverage through a Marketplace plan, your husband may want to continue COBRA coverage from his former employer's plan. He should learn more about his special enrollment period, and coverage at www.HealthCare.gov or by calling 1-800-318-2596. .Confirmation Process Begins for Burwell .In recent years the Earnings Suspense File has been growing at an unprecedented pace. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, Russ Knocke, was recently quoted as saying that, last year, as many as 10% of the wage reports received by the Social Security Administration (SSA) belonged to employees whose name and Social Security number did not match those of SSA. .But as the StatNews article said, "… some people might remember the headlines of Moderna's and Pfizer's product offering greater than 90% effectiveness against Covid-19 and question J&J's announcement of 66% effectiveness. .I recently introduced H.R. 4521, SNAP Simplification for the Elderly Act, as one of the focal points for my "Let's Feed America Campaign." The bill would eliminate burdensome red tape and make it easier for the low-income elderly and disabled individuals to receive SNAP, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and the Medicare Savings Program (MSP) benefits.
