News
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Social Security Medicare Questions January 2015
First, one new cosponsor – Representative Mike Bishop (MI-8) – signed on to the Audiology Patient Choice Act (H.R. 2276), bringing the total up to thirty-three. If adopted, H.R. 2276 would improve Medicare coverage for hearing services that are performed by licensed audiologists. Under current law, audiologists are not recognized as providers of health-related hearing services, and the Medicare program will only reimburse them for their services when patients are referred by physicians or nurse practitioners. .However, MA insurers have already begun taking steps to reduce their costs in order to account for the cuts from CMS. As was noted in last week's legislative update, UnitedHealth – one of the largest MA plan providers – has dropped thousands of doctors from its networks, leaving many seniors doctor-less. It expects its physician network to be 85 percent of its pre-Obamacare size by the end of this year. TSCL is concerned that additional cuts to MA in 2015 will harm beneficiaries in other ways, by driving up premiums and reducing benefits. .In his speech, President Obama also spoke briefly about a new retirement savings plan that will allow citizens to invest in low-risk Treasury bonds through "myRA" accounts. Shortly after the speech, he signed a presidential memorandum directing the Treasury Department to create the new plans. While TSCL agrees that saving for retirement is crucial for younger generations, we were disappointed that the President did not propose any efforts to assist today's seniors. Most Americans over the age of sixty-five rely heavily upon their Social Security checks to meet their daily needs. However, our research shows that seniors are unable to keep up with rising costs – their expenses are rising more than twice as fast as the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment. We strongly believe that Congress should act soon to restore the purchasing power of Social Security benefits. … Continued
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H R 1795 Social Security Fairness Act
Despite progress on the bill's movement in the House this week, the AHCA appears to have a tough road ahead. TSCL will be keeping a close eye on it in the days and weeks ahead since its passage would negatively impact the health and financial stability of older Americans. For updates, follow TSCL on Twitter, or visit the Legislative News section of our website. In addition, we encourage our members and supporters to call their representatives in Congress to request their opposition to the AHCA. Contact information can be found HERE. .The Senior Citizens League enthusiastically supports the four bills mentioned above, and we were pleased to see support grow for them this week. For more information about these and other bills that have been backed by The Senior Citizens League, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. .In addition, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) is prohibited from negotiating directly with pharmaceutical companies on behalf of the more than 40 million Americans who get their prescription drug coverage from Medicare Part D. … Continued
Under the rule he's considering formally proposing, Trump would order reimbursement for certain Part B drugs to be tied to what's known as the International Price Index. That would mean a price cut for many medicines, since the prices drug makers charge outside the U.S. are often set by government-run health-care systems and are generally lower. Medicare doesn't use its position as a big buyer of drugs to bargain for lower prices. .New Analysis Says Social Security/Medicare in Worse Shape Now than Earlier This Year .Chairman Larson also mentioned the Know Your Social Security Act and heralded it as a great bill. But it hasn't been reintroduced. Also, he did not mention his own bill, the Social Security 2100 Act, which he introduced in the previous Congress but has not done so in this Congress. .Medicare pays the plans a pre-determined monthly amount for each enrollee. Higher rates are paid for sicker patients, and lower amounts for people in good health. The "risk adjustment" policy is intended to avoid the problem of plans cutting corners on healthcare to boost profits. But the audits found pervasive problems with many plans overstating the severity of enrollees' medical conditions, with little documentation of the medical conditions being claimed. .Mary: What is the "anchor effect" and could you give an example? .More generous medical expense deductions for 2017 and 2018: The final tax bill retains the deduction for medical expenses and delays a previous change that would have limited the medical expense deduction for people age 65 and older in 2017 and thereafter. Under previous tax law, all taxpayers could deduct out-of-pocket medical expenses that exceed 10% of adjusted gross income, or only 7.5% for taxpayers age 65 or older. The amount of medical expenses that this group of taxpayers would be allowed to deduct was originally scheduled to rise to 10% in 201The new tax bill delayed that change, retaining the 7.5% threshold for medical expenses for taxpayers age 65 and over in 2017 and 201The change to 10% will go into effect beginning in 2019. .In April, more than 150 House lawmakers proposed a budget blueprint that would have reformed the Medicare program and cut Social Security benefits by adopting the "chained" CPI, eliminating the COLA for some seniors, and raising the eligibility age. Did you support this budget blueprint, and if so, why? .In addition, two new cosponsors – Reps. Alan Grayson (FL-9) and Lee Terry (NE-2) – signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 1795). The cosponsor total is now up to one hundred and thirty-three. If signed into law, the Social Security Fairness Act would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – two federal provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, fire fighters, peace officers, and other state or local government employees each year. .TSCL believes that the combined effect of COLA cuts and higher Medicare costs would leave the majority seniors far less able to afford necessities in coming years. Today the average monthly Social Security benefit is just ,150 before deductions for Medicare premiums. The average family income of married couples 65 and over including Social Security is just ,718.
