News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending August 3 2018

    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/. .But one thing is clear: Congress and the President, whoever his is, will have massive issues to deal with, not the least of which will be the future solvency of Social Security and Medicare. Our political leaders have to stop avoiding dealing with these tough issues. They can't continue to "kick the can down the road." .Members of the House were scheduled to vote on a stopgap funding measure on Tuesday, but leaders have delayed the vote until next week due to a lack of support. It remains to be seen whether or not lawmakers will successfully avert the shutdown, but Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers (KY-) remains optimistic. He said of the delay this week: "We've got some time left here, and conversations are taking place among the various elements … It's not time to panic." … Continued

  • Issues Social Security Reform Faqs Feed

    Sources: "Feds Announce Biggest-Ever Medicare Fraud, Totaling 0 Million," Scott Cohn, CNBC, May 4, 201"Report: Suspect Billings At 2,600 Drugstores," Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, The Associated Press, May 13, 201"Obstacles To Collection Of Millions In Medicare Overpayments, Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services, May 2012. .We urge you to be cautious. You should not be charged just for being put on a list. If you receive a contact like this you should call your doctor's office or your local health department to try and verify that such a list exists. .The Social Security COLA is calculated using the consumer price index. There are several of them, and the government uses the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Workers (CPI-W) to calculate the annual boost. That index, though, doesn't measure how people 62 and older spend their money. It measures how younger working adults do. Seniors, however, have different spending patterns, and have to spend a growing share of their budget on healthcare, which in most years outpaces overall inflation. … Continued

The CBO recommended substantial changes in tax and/or spending policies in the near future in order to put the federal budget on a sustainable path forward. Acting sooner rather than later is important, the authors noted, so that those affected by any changes have plenty of time to prepare, so that uncertainty can be reduced, and so that long-term interest rates can be held down. Members of the House Budget Committee seemed to agree during Wednesday's hearing, and Chairman Paul Ryan (WI-1) stated: "If this report tells us anything, it's that the status quo isn't working." .The age at which you start receiving Social Security benefits. .If signed into law, the Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act would amend the Social Security Act to allow individuals receiving "outpatient observation services" in hospitals to be considered "inpatients" so they may satisfy the three-day requirement for Medicare coverage of post-hospitalization care in skilled nursing facilities. Currently, Medicare does not cover skilled nursing care for those who spent time in the hospital under outpatient observation, and they are billed unfairly for necessary medical care. .(Washington, DC) A new analysis from The Senior Citizens League takes a look at what the Social Security Trust Fund might collect in payroll tax revenues from just a few of the highest paid U.S. workers. "In a sampling of just 20 CEOs from the Fortune top 80 companies, the analysis found that total base salaries and performance pay not currently taxed for Social Security is expected to total 1.5 million in 2018, averaging more than million per CEO sampled," stated Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. .TSCL believes Congress must ensure stronger protections of Social Security in order to prevent payments based on illegal work. TSCL supports legislation that would prevent Social Security credit being earned without legal status such as (S.95) introduced by Senator David Vitter (LA). Sources: "Status of Totalization Agreements," Social Security Administration, October 22, 200"Social Security Benefits for Noncitizens," Congressional Research Service, July 20, 2006. .Some Medicare Advantage plans offer low cost dental insurance as an additional benefit. Before adding the coverage, always look into the details. Coverage can be very skimpy for the money, and you might be able to find better coverage for the same amount of money from a stand-alone dental plan. .Sources: "Do You Like Your Doctor? Obamacare Drives UnitedHealth to Downsize its Medicare Physician Networks," Avik Roy, Forbes, November 18, 2013. .I retired seven years ago at age 65 when I started Social Security and Medicare. I have difficulty budgeting my healthcare costs. I never seem to learn what they will be until I start getting the bills. Can you help? .To learn more, please visit .