News
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Legislative Update For Week Ending May 10 2013
In addition, two new cosponsors – Reps. Pete Olson (TX-22) and Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) – signed on to the Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act (H.R. 2305), bringing the total up to sixty. If signed into law, the PRIME Act would take a number of steps to comprehensively prevent fraud, waste, and abuse within Medicare and Medicaid – a problem that TSCL believes must be addressed in order to ensure that scarce program dollars are being spent properly. .Anthony Cummings, a fugitive on the run from a child rape indictment in Georgia, improperly collected thousands of dollars in Supplemental Social Security Income (SSI) payments until the law finally caught up with him. The SSI program, which is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), will continue to pay fugitives at least million annually unless state fugitive files can be used to prevent such payments, the agency`s Inspector General recently warned. Auditors estimate that fugitives have collected between 8 million and 0 million in SSI benefits over the past four years. The SSA hopes to negotiate agreements by July to obtain fugitive records from all states. .One of the options to address Social Security that appears to have widespread support is increasing the Social Security retirement age. Raising the age at which people would be eligible for unreduced Social Security benefits has been discussed by policy "wonks" for years, but has largely remained out of the discussion with the general public. However, this summer two high-ranking Members of Congress spotlighted the topic in a rare public airing that was discussed in the media and the general public. Within a week of each other, Rep. John Boehner (OH-8), the House Minority Leader, and Rep. Steny Hoyer (MD-5), the House Majority Leader, both advocated raising the Social Security retirement age. … Continued
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Category Issues Medicare Part B Page 3
Sources: "What Medicaid Cuts Will Mean For Seniors," Gleckman, Kaiser Health News, May 18, 2011. .In normal political times neither party would allow Medicare to be cut. But because of our current highly partisan times, it would require ten Republicans to join with Democrats to stop the cuts to Medicare with new legislation if reconciliation were used. .Despite tightening the law, Congress did not fix a policy loophole that would be inadvertently triggered with the passage of comprehensive immigration reform legislation. When determining entitlement for insured status (10 years), and in calculating the initial retirement benefit amount, the Social Security Administration uses all reported earnings from covered employment in the United States, even if the earnings were from illegal or "unauthorized" work. … Continued
The order covers certain medical supplies that are deemed essential, as well. .TREA Senior Citizens League Backs New Approach to Correcting the Notch .When he issued the orders President Trump gave the drug industry until Aug. 24 to find a suitable alternative to one of his drug pricing plans. He also announced that he would be meeting with drug company executives last Tuesday to begin discussions about a different plan. . Contact your doctor's office and alert them to this dilemma. Ask if they have emergency samples of Lantus and your blood pressure medicine that they can provide, or if they can give you the contact number of programs that can help you. .Here are two actual cases from the Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General, and estimates of what the cost would be over a 20-year period by Advisor editor, Mary Johnson. .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. .(Washington, DC) The portion of Social Security benefits that retirees spent on Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket costs climbed in 2018 for a growing number of retirees in 2018, according to a recent survey by The Senior Citizens League. About 30 percent of retirees say that premiums and out-of-pocket spending consumed one-third to one-half of their Social Security benefits. The findings represent a 7 percent jump from the 23 percent of retirees reporting healthcare costs took this portion of Social Security in 2017. .TSCL is a non-partisan organization which means we work with whomever supports our legislative agenda, regardless of what party they belong to. We look forward to working with the new chairmen and women of the various Senate committees and with the minority members of the committees in achieving our goals. .TSCL (TREA Senior Citizens League) consists of vocally active senior citizens concerned about the protection of their Social Security, Medicare, and veteran or military retiree benefits. TSCL was first established as a special project of The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA). On January 1, 1995, TSCL became an independent 501[c][4] citizens' action organization.
