News

  • Did Illegal Immigrants Pocket Billions In Making Work Pay Tax Credits Feed

    Today we are going to be hearing from people in their own words about Congress's neglect to help the very citizens we are sworn to serve. .Obama's controversial executive action would defer the deportation of up to five million illegal immigrants, including older adults who have children who were born in the U.S. (and thus U.S. citizens). In addition, his executive actions provide the work authorization required to receive Social Security and Medicare, once other qualifications are met. Texas and 25 other states are challenging the legality of Obama's actions. They are being supported by TSCL, 12 other groups, and 113 Members of Congress who argue in an amicus brief, that "the President acted contrary to both the express and implied will of Congress." .Now, Members of the House are planning to vote on a potentially revised CR next Wednesday, which means that the Senate will either be called back to Washington for a vote during their upcoming recess, or they will wait until they return at the end of the month, just days before the September 30th deadline. … Continued

  • Are New Immigration Rules Backdoor Amnesty

    Senior Medicare Patrol Saved Millions in 2013 .More than 30% of all Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans last year. The federal government pays plans a monthly fee to deliver all their healthcare needs — a fee that's based for the most part on risk scores. In 2015 plans like Humana received on average about ,900 per person for the year. According to government estimates, Medicare made nearly billion in improper payments to Medicare Advantage plans from 2008 through 2013, mostly due to inflated risk scores. .TSCL agrees that lawmakers must take action soon to stabilize the individual health insurance market and to bring down skyrocketing prescription drug prices. In the coming months, our legislative team will continue to monitor and support legislation like the Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs Act (S. 771, H.R. 1776), which would reduce costs and improve care for older Americans. For updates on this bill and others like it, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website or follow TSCL on Twitter. … Continued

Roughly 27% of older single women are at high risk of living in poverty, because they have little other income to augment their Social Security benefits. Single women have it worse in retirement than married couples and men, and are more likely to become impoverished as they age. Most women have lower benefits than men. Women tend to work in lower-paying jobs, get paid less than men, and take time out of the workforce to take care of children and older family members. That can leave zero earnings gaps, or only partial years of earnings for the time out of the work force. .At that point Congress would either must cut benefits in a major way or raise taxes to pay for continued benefits, something that Congress has refused to do for years. .The deal will likely move to the House and Senate for a vote before the Presidents Day recess begins. .Finally, the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act (H.R. 711) also gained one new cosponsor this week. Rep. Jared Nadler (NY-10) signed on to it, bringing the cosponsor total up to 10That bill, if signed into law, would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) while establishing a new formula for the non-covered earnings of future retirees. It would also create a separate formula for retirees who are currently affected by the WEP. TSCL believes H.R. 711 is a sensible step forward, and we hope it continues to gain strong support in the months ahead. .TSCL believes the increased use of observation stays is denying Medicare beneficiaries access to medically necessary skilled nursing care. All days spent in a hospital should count toward Medicare's three-day hospital stay requirement. TSCL supports the Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act (H.R. 1179) introduced by Representatives Joseph Courtney (CT-2) and Tom Latham (IA-3), and (S. 569) introduced by Senators Sherrod Brown, (OH) and Susan Collins (ME). The legislation would deem time an individual spends under observation status eligible towards satisfying Medicare's three-day requirement. .This week, lawmakers returned to Washington and quickly began working on legislation to stave off a government shutdown, which could occur on December 11th if Congress fails to reach a compromise. In addition, The Senior Citizens League saw two key bills gain support. .This week, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) saw three critical bills – the Credit for Caring Act, the Social Security Fairness Act, and the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act – gain new cosponsors on Capitol Hill. .Social Security recipients who have contacted The Senior Citizens League overwhelmingly feel that a higher COLA would be long overdue. They say that the COLA doesn't come close to keeping up with their actual cost increases. When prices rise rapidly at the same time that retirees are receiving a very low COLA, as is the case in 2021, this shortfall can produce long-term impacts on retirement income, and even health, when retired households without adequate retirement savings run short of cash before the month is over. "In email after email, we are hearing that people are cutting their spending on prescriptions and groceries because that's the last things they have left to cut," says Johnson. The Senior Citizens League works to strengthen Social Security benefits and the COLA. .TSCL supports both prescription drug bills introduced by Senators Franken and Sanders earlier this year, and we will continue to advocate for them tirelessly in the coming months. We will also continue to monitor these discussions on Capitol Hill closely, as the Senate HELP Committee is expected to hold two additional hearings on the prescription drug topic in the near future. For updates, visit the Legislative News section of our website, or follow TSCL on Twitter.