News

  • Public Opinion Can Sway Votes In Congress 2

    First, the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act (S. 521, H.R. 141) gained eight new cosponsors in the Senate and the House, bringing the cosponsor totals up to thirty and 165, respectively. The new cosponsors are: Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA), Senator Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Representative Sean Casten (IL-6), Representative Susan Davis (CA-53), Representative Elaine Luria (VA-2), Representative Colin Allred (TX-32), Representative Ed Case (HI-1), and Representative Filemon Vela (TX-34). .Our legislative team was pleased to see the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act advance out of the Ways and Means Committee this week, and we will be sure to monitor its progress as it moves to the House floor. Leaders expect it to be taken up during the week of June 15th, and it is expected to pass there with bipartisan support as well. For updates on the status of H.R. 1190, visit the Legislative News section of our website. .Eyeglasses, however, are not covered. If you are having difficulty affording a pair of glasses from brick and mortar stores, you may want to try shopping online. Zenni optical.com has eyeglasses starting as low as .95 for basic frames. Costco the wholesale club has high ratings for their optical section. According to Consumer Reports, the median price for a complete pair of eyeglasses, frames and lenses at Costco Optical is 4, the cost of membership not included. … Continued

  • Legislative Update Week Ending October 27 2017

    Take all your prescriptions, vitamins, and supplements with you on your next visit to the doctor. Find out whether you still need to take them all and if there is a less-expensive brand name or generic you can try before settling on new medications. .Eight Questions You Should Always Ask Your Doctor .The Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced a bold new model to save money and improve healthcare quality by changing the way the government pays doctors. The Administration is taking steps to ensure that, by 2018, up to half of all payments to doctors won't be for visits and procedures, but rather for providing "high quality" care. The plan is to pay doctors on how they perform. … Continued

The definition of disability under Social Security is different from other programs. Social Security only pays benefits for total disability, and none are paid for partial or a short-term disability. To determine if your husband is disabled, the Social Security Administration will examine the following: .To get a list of supplemental plans offered in your state, insurers and premiums, check your state's insurance commission's website for published guides comparing Medicare supplement premiums. Look up the plan you are interested in to compare premiums in your area. Be sure you look at the quotes for people who are your age, but do read on to get a feel for how premiums rise with age. Once you pin down a few likely insurers, you will need to call the insurer to confirm premium quotes for your zip code. .If signed into law, H.R. 1811 would base Social Security cost-of-living adjustments on the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) and gradually phase out the cap on income subject to the payroll tax. .I'm Entitled to a Pension for Work as a City Cop… .The Senate, where Republicans hold the majority, has yet to make a decision as to whether to defer taxes for its employees. .If the COLA were calculated using the methodology used in 1990, this year's COLA would not be 1.7 percent – it would be 5.2 percent. And if the COLA were calculated using the 1980 methodology, this year's COLA would be 9.4 percent. As a result of the CPI's manipulation over the past three decades, Social Security beneficiaries have lost over 20 percent of their purchasing power, according to our research. Next year's projected zero COLA will put them even further behind. .Congressional Republicans have also indicated opposition to the administration's proposal, saying it breaks from GOP philosophy by linking U.S. prices to those in other countries where there are price controls. While they like it in part, some Democrats have said it does not go far enough in lowering prices. The change would only lower prices for physician-administered drugs for people on Medicare, meaning people with private insurance and people getting drugs at the pharmacy counter would not benefit from lower prices. .TREA Senior Citizens League Backs New Approach to Correcting the Notch .This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for two key bills that would improve retirement security in America if adopted.