News

  • Legislative Update

    Hearings Over Controversial Healthcare "Cutting" Board .The most important thing people nearing retirement should consider doing is to delay starting benefits until age 70, the report says. After reaching full retirement age, benefits will grow 8 percent per year after for each year delayed, until age 70. "The higher your benefit and COLA, the easier it will be to cover Medicare Part B and other healthcare costs in retirement," Johnson says. .The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) urges its members and supporters to make the most of the August recess by attending town hall meetings. For more information, or to see if your Members of Congress will be holding town halls in the coming days, call their local offices. … Continued

  • S 771 Improving Access Affordable Prescription Drugs Act

    Watch your mail for information from your current Medicare supplemental or Medicare Advantage, and drug plan insurers. Your insurers will send you notification of changes in coverage, such as premiums, deductible, and co-insurance or co-payment costs for 200Carefully review these documents and compare them with your costs in 200File these documents where you can easily refer to them because you will need to use them for comparison when comparing other insurance options. .On Thursday, TSCL delivered letters to several congressional offices – including the offices of lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee – requesting support for three tax-related changes that would strengthen the Social Security program: .In 2014 the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the average tax payment of Social Security households equaled 6.7 percent of benefit income — an amount that is estimated to grow to 9 percent of benefits by 203"That growth is likely to occur much more rapidly due to changes in the tax law, which uses a more slowly growing consumer price index to adjust the tax code," Johnson says. … Continued

Genetic testing is not routinely used by doctors to screen for cancer. Here's how the scam works— The "target" (that's anyone close to age 65 and up) might receive automated phone calls, often multiple times a week, or may be approached in-person by a "recruiter." The recruiter, who may present herself as a "certified Medicare counselor," convinces the target to take a genetic test promising that Medicare pays the full cost. The patient, however, often never receives a report, or the report may be incomprehensible. .But the money to cover beneficiaries' share of premium costs still needs to come from somewhere. That leaves the 30% of Part B enrollees who aren't protected by hold harmless to make up the difference through steeply higher Part B premiums. Many of those people are facing a steep Part B premium increase from 1.80 per month to an estimated 9.00, the highest increase in 27 years. Those not protected by the hold harmless provision include: .It's true that public opinion can sway votes in Congress, especially during a critical election year like this one. TSCL strongly believes that grassroots lobbying is the most effective way for the public to communicate with elected Members of Congress. Our members spoke loudly and clearly when they signed more than 1.5 million petitions, and many Congressional offices met our deliveries with surprise and gratitude. We look forward to partnering with many of those offices in the future to ensure that Congress lives up to the commitments it has made to seniors. .Bloomberg also said the administration is still moving forward with the plan and that the cards will likely be sent in November or December. .Hearings Over Controversial Healthcare "Cutting" Board .The Senior Citizens League supports legislation that would strengthen the COLA and better protect the buying power of Social Security recipients. To learn more, visit . .This week, TSCL endorsed two new bills from Congressman Lloyd Doggett (TX-35) – the Transparent Drug Pricing Act (H.R. 4116) and the Competitive DRUGS Act (H.R. 4117). If signed into law, the bills would promote transparency in the prescription drug industry and prevent anti-competitive pay-for-delay deals, in which brand-name drug companies pay generic drug makers millions of dollars to delay the introduction of their generic medicines to the market. .In the coming weeks, TSCL will continue to monitor the "myRA" and immigration reform issues that President Obama spoke about on Tuesday evening. We will provide updates here in the Legislative News section of our website as more details become available. .Growing numbers of seniors are working longer, and delaying the start of benefits. According to a TSCL survey conducted early this year, 42 percent of seniors who are still working say they plan to delay the start of benefits until age 66 or thereafter. Those who continue to work, continue to pay Social Security, Medicare and other taxes as well.