News

  • Press Release Medicare Premiums Increase

    TSCL encourages its members and supporters to attend these events and to voice their concerns about important Social Security and Medicare issues like inadequate cost-of-living adjustments and skyrocketing prescription drug prices. .We worked with members of Congress who supported ending the practice, although we were unable to get legislation passed. One of our key allies in the fight was Sen. Lamar Alexander (R- Tenn.). He was a champion of our cause but, unfortunately, he is retiring at the end of this year. We will certainly miss his leadership on the issue but we pledge to continue to fight to end the practice in 2021. .Budget Conference Meets for First Time … Continued

  • Medicare Q A Feed

    Progress Report: Getting Congress On Board For Key Senior Issues .To make the Social Security COLA more adequate, The Senior Citizens League believes Congress must adopt the CPI-E Act (H.R. 1251). This bipartisan bill would base Social Security COLAs on the spending patterns of older Americans – not the spending patterns of young, working Americans – using the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E). ."Reducing the cost of prescription drugs is essential for both Medicare beneficiaries and Medicare's finances," says Mary Johnson, a Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). The average monthly Social Security retiree benefit is just ,552, while spending on prescription drugs is the fastest growing cost that most retirees face in retirement," she says. Over time, drug costs take a growing portion of Social Security income, because prices are rising several times faster than annual cost of living adjustments (COLAs). … Continued

The Strategic National Stockpile will maintain the supplies while additional surge manufacturing is built up, a senior administration official said Thursday. The stockpile will include testing supplies that were not maintained in the past. .The credit will include children who turn age 17 or who are under that age in 2021. .During his campaign for President, and several times since, he has promised that he would protect Social Security and Medicare. Yet a payroll tax cut would result in untold damage to the stability of both programs and bring them dangerously close to insolvency. .The costs shown in the chart below assume coverage started on September 1, 201Costs include premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket cost sharing for 201Costs are estimates, and actual costs may vary somewhat depending on the pharmacy. The prices in our chart are likely to change for 2018. .More than 61 million people, including adults age 65 and older, and younger disabled adults who receive Social Security disability benefits, get their healthcare coverage though Medicare.[3] The Social Security hold harmless provision protects about 70 percent of beneficiaries (almost 43 million beneficiaries) from increases in the Medicare Part B premium that exceed the dollar amount of their COLA. When an individual's Part B premium increases more than the dollar amount of his or her COLA, the Part B premium is reduced to prevent a reduction in net Social Security benefits from one year to the next. .By Representative Al Lawson (FL-05) .TSCL is gearing up to fight legislation that would cut the current rate of COLA growth. "People who depend on Social Security need a COLA that more adequately protects the buying power of their benefits," says Hyland. TSCL believes seniors would receive higher and more adequate benefits by using an index that more closely tracks senior spending, like the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E). TSCL supports The Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) Act, H.R. 798 introduced by Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR-4), and H.R.456 introduced by Charles Gonzalez (TX-20). Learn more by visiting TSCL on the web at . .Mandatory programs are those, like Medicare, that are automatically funded every year without passage of annual legislation to pay for them. Congress can, however, waive the PAYGO rules to avoid the payment cuts. .What is the ,000 Lump-Sum Settlement?