News

  • Legislation To Control Drug Prices Possible This Year

    According to the results, TSCL's members and supporters would prefer to see a more permanent solution. Forty-eight percent of respondents said the DI program should tighten its eligibility requirements and conduct more continuing disability reviews to reduce fraud, and 51 percent said high wage earners should be required to pay Social Security taxes on all of their incomes. .To learn more about the WEP, download the Social Security Administration Publication No. 05-10045 here — https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf. .This week, TSCL announced its support for legislation that Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46) recently re-introduced: the No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act (H.R. 2745). Each year, millions of unauthorized workers use invalid, stolen, or fraudulent Social Security numbers to get jobs in the United States. Later, if they receive "green cards" or work authorization, they may file a claim for Social Security benefits based on those illegal earnings. TSCL feels that Congress should put an end to this practice in order to protect the integrity of the Social Security program and to prevent further strains on the Trust Fund. Rep. Rohrabacher's bill – which was introduced with twenty cosponsors last week – would do just that, and we look forward to working with him throughout the 113th Congress to help build support for it. … Continued

  • Americans Financial Worries Grow

    High drug or health plan premiums don't necessarily purchase better coverage. For example, the generic blood pressure medication Lisinopril is one of the most commonly used prescriptions by Medicare beneficiaries. The least expensive Part D plan in my area charges Currently doctors are paid for every service they provide, giving a big incentive for wasteful duplication. Patients wind up getting repeated tests, X-rays, CT scans and procedures involving expensive computerized equipment. .This is good news. While we have disagreements with some doctors over things like surprise medical billings, this year has taught us how critical and valuable to us all are our medical personnel. This certainly was no time to try to balance the budget on the backs of those who have borne the weight of so many of us this year. .TSCL believes these three Medicare improvements were long overdue, and we were pleased that lawmakers reached across the aisle earlier this year to address them once and for all. For more information about the Bipartisan Budget Act and the other Medicare improvements TSCL is advocating for on Capitol Hill, visit our website at . copay for Tier 1 generics, and the monthly premium is just .50 in the zip code used in this search. The most expensive plan charges a co-pay of .19, and the plan has a monthly premium of .30 — a difference of ,055.88 for the entire year counting premiums! .The fact is there isn't much information yet— even though doctors and their staff are reporting huge amounts of data mandated by the 2010 health law. Based on what I've been able to learn, the Administration is still tinkering with the system. .Now, another warning has been issued that some sanitizers made in both the U.S. and China contain benzene, a chemical known to cause blood cancers such as leukemias. … Continued

Your Survey Responses are Helping to Change Attitudes About Social Security .(For more details see our "FAHow ‘Undocumented' Workers Are Becoming Entitled To Social Security.") Of particular importance is an exception that applies to immigrants receiving benefits living in a country with which the U.S. has a totalization agreement. It appears that under the U.S./Mexico Totalization Agreement, all that any illegal Mexican worker must do to qualify for benefits is return to Mexico. Once a claim has been filed, the U.S. Social Security system counts all earnings, even for jobs worked without legal authorization, to determine entitlement to benefits. TSCL is particularly wary of how the 2012 presidential election may affect the status of the agreement. And, even if voters send a new president to the White House, the agreement will continue to remain pending even if no action is taken by President Obama, for the next President's consideration. .GOP offers Super-Committee concession while seniors see increased poverty levels. .At the time of writing this week's legislative update, lawmakers in the Senate had not yet voted on the CR, and a coalition of Democrats had vowed to block it unless Republicans agreed to include year-long funding for the health care benefits of coal miners. The House-passed package includes funding for only four months, and Members of Congress in that chamber left town shortly after its passage. .Protecting Medicare for current beneficiaries and saving it for future generations is one of my most important responsibilities as a Member of Congress. It is no secret that demographic and economic factors will not allow us to continue the program unaltered. There are 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day, and when these programs were first enacted there were more than 40 workers for every 1 retiree. Today, that number is below 3 workers per retiree and headed towards 2 to Health care costs continue to rise much faster than inflation. In order to ensure the solvency of a program that senior citizens have come to rely on, changes must be made. The days of doing nothing, burying our heads in the sand, and pretending the status quo is sustainable are over. .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? .You make an excellent point! The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) uses the most recent data for the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W), the index that is used to calculate the annual Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA). New data is released monthly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. .Under current law, employers withhold 6.2% in Social Security taxes from workers' earnings — an amount that employers match for a total of 12.4%. That money goes to the U.S. Treasury and is used to pay benefits to today's retirees. About 85 percent of all employees, pay Social Security taxes on every dollar earned. .On Thursday, lawmakers in the House began considering legislation (H.R. 1190) to repeal the IPAB, the unelected 15-member board that was created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to manage Medicare's growth. The House Ways and Means Committee advanced the bill with a vote of 31-8 two weeks ago, and earlier this week it was approved by the House Rules Committee.