News

  • Immigration Action Planned Behind Closed Doors

    At the time of writing this week's legislative update, the bill had not yet been approved on the House floor. However, its passage is expected by early next week. Despite bipartisan support in the House, its prospects in the Senate remain uncertain. Lawmakers in that chamber have not yet acted on their version of the bill (S. 141). .The Medicare Trustees estimated that the base monthly Medicare Part B premium in 2012 would be 6.60. For seniors who became eligible for Medicare in 2010, that may be a modest savings. Those seniors are probably paying a base premium of 0.50 for Part B. But most seniors will pay more. You should plan accordingly as well since any increases in your Medicare supplemental plan and drug coverage and out-of-pocket costs, would very likely offset what little savings you may get on Part B. .TSCL is relieved that Members of Congress came to an agreement this week, since another government shutdown like last year's would have severely affected Social Security and Medicare benefits for seniors. However, lawmakers will need to revisit the spending debate in ten short weeks since the temporary bill expires on December 11th. TSCL will continue to monitor the discussions in the meantime, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website. … Continued

  • Congressional Corner Transforming Medicare Fixing A Broken Payment System

    Lawmakers from both the House and Senate remained in their home states and districts this week to continue the month-long August recess. They are expected to return to Washington on September 5th, following the Labor Day holiday. .Companies requiring mandatory arbitration say it saves money and time for resolving complaints. But older consumers still may wind up with legal fees, and may wind up having to pay a share of the arbitration fees. .Medicare Reform – Protecting seniors from sudden and harsh changes to the program. … Continued

Graves can't understand why the pricing is going unchecked by the federal government. "This needs to be investigated," she says. "People who don't have good Part D coverage or the money to pay for their drugs would be forced to go without," she protests. "It's GREED, GREED, GREED!" .58% Of Seniors Worried Their Health Plan Could Be Cancelled . Contact your doctor's office and alert them to this dilemma. Ask if they have emergency samples of Lantus and your blood pressure medicine that they can provide, or if they can give you the contact number of programs that can help you. .Only a little more than half of the nation's nursing homes had received inspections, according to data released earlier this month, which prompted Medicare and Medicaid chief Seema Verma to direct that states complete the checks by July 31 or risk losing federal recovery funds. .Sources: "Vets Break Past World War II Memorial Barricade," Laura Koran and Ashley Killough, CNN, October 1, 2013. .The Democrats are likely to use reconciliation to move President Biden's COVID-19 relief measure through Congress while sidestepping a GOP filibuster. .Second, six new cosponsors signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (S. 521, H.R. 141), bringing the cosponsor total up to thirty in the Senate and 163 in the House of Representatives. The new cosponsors are: Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA), Senator Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Representative Colin Allred (TX-32), Representative Elaine Luria (VA-2), Representative Susan Davis (CA-53), and Representative Sean Casten (IL-6). .TSCL is hopeful that lawmakers will successfully repeal and replace the SGR before the looming deadline, since doing so would bring much-needed stability to the Medicare program. We will continue to monitor the negotiations in the coming weeks, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website. .On November 21, 2017 The Senior Citizens League delivered advocacy letters to caution members of Congress to NOT repeal the medical expense tax deduction. The letters were delivered to Majority and Minority members of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Subcommittee on Taxes, in addition to a few other key Congressional members. Learn which members are on the Ways and Means Sub-committee on taxes here.