News

  • Best Ways To Save To Save July 2020

    How Can We Cope With Debt In Retirement? .Both chambers of Congress adjourned for the President's Day Holiday this week and are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Monday, February 25th. Meanwhile, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, former co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, released a new proposal that would avert the looming sequester and trim .4 trillion from the deficit. In addition, two Members of Congress re-introduced a critical bill that would extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund without cutting benefits. .But not all beneficiaries will come out ahead. Some treatments have little or no competition, and patients needing those drugs might not see any extra savings. And for people who don't take pricey drugs, monthly Part D costs are likely to rise because premiums are expected to go up when insurers won't be able to keep rebates to improve bottom lines. … Continued

  • Category Issues Medicare Part B Faqs

    This week, The Senior Citizens League's (TSCL) legislative team met with several Members of Congress and their top staff to discuss legislation that would protect and defend the Social Security benefits of seniors. In addition, members of TSCL's legislative team were in attendance at the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction's first public hearing. TSCL also saw support grow for a key piece of legislation. .The House passed the bill yesterday and the Senate is expected to take it up next week. .The potential cost of illegal immigration on federal benefit programs is for now still flying under the radar as political candidates vie for votes. Latinos are becoming a key electorate group. In 2010, The National Council of La Raza estimated that 20 million Latinos were eligible to vote in the 2010 elections — representing the fastest electorate growth rate of any group in the U.S. … Continued

Finally, one new cosponsor – Rep. Alcee Hastings (FL-20) – signed on to the Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act (H.R. 574) this week bringing the total up to thirty-seven. If signed into law, H.R. 574 would repeal and replace the sustainable growth rate (SGR), which is the flawed formula that is currently used to determine reimbursements for physicians who treat Medicare patients. Adopting H.R. 574 would bring increased stability to the Medicare program for both physicians and beneficiaries. .Legislation to Stop Medicare Cuts Passes in Senate .You should still watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if you've been around someone who is sick. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested and stay home and away from others. .TSCL feels the closing of the World War II Memorial is a prime example of backwards Administration priorities. Access to that memorial should never be barred in the first place. Its construction was funded heavily by donations from the public rather than solely by tax revenues, and many donations came from Notch Babies who formed the bulk of the fighting forces during World War II. In fact, TSCL members and supporters alone donated over ,749 for the World War II Memorial Foundation. .Sources: "Appeals Panel Weighs Fate of Obama's Immigration Overhaul," Michael Shear, The New York Times, April 17, 201"Effects Of Unauthorized Immigration On The Actuarial Status Of The Social Security Trust Funds," Actuarial Note 151, Social Security Administration, April 2013. .First, one new cosponsor – Representative Conor Lamb (PA-18) – signed on to the Social Security 2100 Act (H.R. 1902), bringing the total up to 17If adopted, H.R. 1902 would strengthen Social Security benefits by improving the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), increasing monthly benefits by 2 percent, creating a new Special Minimum Benefit equal to 125 percent of the poverty line, and providing a tax cut to millions of Social Security beneficiaries. To cover the cost of these changes and to extend the solvency of the program through the year 2100, it would apply the payroll tax to annual income over 0,000 and gradually increase the payroll tax rate by 0.25 percent. .The extensions will cost approximately 0 billion over ten years, and billion of that will be paid for by spending cuts and revenue increases. The remaining 0 billion, however, will be added to the budget deficit. ."Addressing our fiscal challenges will require many tough choices and policy changes—but switching to the chained CPI represents neither. Such a change offers policy makers the rare opportunity to achieve significant savings spread across the entire budget by making a technical improvement to existing policies. As such, across-the-board adoption of the chained CPI should be at the top of the list for any deficit reduction plan or down payment." .The new guidance is as follows: