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  • Congressional Corner Time Invest Direct Care Workforce

    Thus, if you need to replace lost income right away, and you don't have a lot of savings or other resources to finance a waiting period for benefits, your husband may be better off simply filing a claim now for Social Security retirement benefits. While those benefits would be reduced due to starting benefits prior to his full retirement age, the application process is straightforward and can be accomplished easily online. Benefits could be started on the effective date you choose. .Four Key Bills Gain Support .Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced earlier this year that he wants to overhaul entitlement spending. TSCL is concerned that, after the elections, Congress could address rising deficits by moving legislation that would cut Social Security benefits. … Continued

  • 2015 No Cost Of Living Adjustment

    Many in Congress have been outspoken about the potential cuts. Last week, a bipartisan group of forty Senators sent a letter to CMS urging administrators to maintain current payment rates in order to protect seniors from potential benefit disruptions. TSCL has also been expressing its concerns to lawmakers, and we will continue to keep a close eye on the issue in the coming weeks. For updates, visit the Legislative News section of our website. .Implementing Medicaid cuts is proving even harder than getting the cuts enacted into law. In Connecticut for example, the state General Assembly recently voted overwhelmingly to reverse healthcare program cuts that they had passed just a few months before. Connecticut's 2017 budget agreement lowered the Medicaid program's income eligibility limits last year. The cuts, originally planned to go into effect January 1, would have kicked an estimated 86,000 older and disabled people off Medicare Savings Programs which pays Part B premiums and out -of - pocket costs, and moved another 27,000 to a second level of the program that provides less financial assistance. But, by January 8, 2018, the cuts were reversed by an overwhelming 130-3 vote, despite lingering concerns over financing. .2020 COLA Hold Harmless Issue Brief 9.2020 … Continued

The main purpose for the Senate's return was to work on confirming to office many of the appointments of the Trump administration. These include leaders of many government departments as well as judicial appointments. .In the weeks ahead, TSCL will continue to advocate for tax reforms that would benefit the financial security of older Americans, and we will post updates on the movement of the Ways and Means Committee's bill here in the Legislative News section of our website. For more information on TSCL's tax reform recommendations, click HERE. .Two bills that would provide for coverage of dental services under the Medicare program were introduced in Congress last week. H.R.502, authored by Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan (D-Calif.) has been introduced in the House of Representatives, while S.97, authored by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) has been introduced in the Senate. .As of yet, the text of the bills has not been released but TSCL will be closely monitoring these bills to determine if we will be supporting them. Coverage of dental and hearing care are two of our priorities and we are hopeful this legislation will provide the solution for one of those goals. .The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) will be monitoring CR discussions in the Senate in the coming hours and days, and we will post updates on Facebook and Twitter. In addition, we will continue to monitor ongoing budget discussions since they are expected to include plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act. As was noted in a recent legislation update, repealing the law would impact the Medicare program in several ways. For instance, progress that has been made to close the prescription drug "doughnut hole" would be reversed, and the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund that finances Medicare Part A would lose an important stream of funding that the law created. The Trust Fund could face immediate depletion if eliminated. .Source: "Senators Introduced Medicare Reform Plan: The Congressional Health Care for Seniors Act," Paul.Senate.Gov, March 15, 2012. .This week, President Obama released his fiscal 2015 budget blueprint. In addition, The Senior Citizens League's (TSCL's) Board of Trustees traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with four lawmakers and their top aides, and TSCL saw . .The billion could be financed without taking money from the Social Security Trust Fund. One way is through reduction of pork barrel spending and government waste. In the fiscal year 2001 budget alone, pork "watch-dog" Senator John McCain (AZ-R) estimated that the government would spend a record billion in pork-barrel projects. .The 1977 legislation was intended to correct an earlier flaw in the Social Security benefit formula. That flaw raised the initial retirement benefits for future retirees too quickly. Government economists predicted at the time that, if not corrected, the initial monthly benefits of future retirees could be greater than their monthly earnings prior to retirement - far above the levels ever anticipated (2). The flawed benefit formula would bankrupt Social Security.