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  • Frequently Asked Question July 2021

    U.S. law requires that, in order to meet the requirements, ANP beneficiaries must "establish physical presence" in the United States to receive benefits. One of the easiest options is to "enter the U.S. for any part of 1 day before 30 days elapse." .The CPI-W gives less weight to medical care and housing costs — two categories that have climbed by more than 7 percent and almost 5 percent, respectively, over the past 12 months — and more weight to gasoline, which has deeply plunged over the past year. Older Americans tend to use more medical services and spend more of their budgets on housing than younger workers. Because the CPI-W excludes the spending patterns of people over the age of 62, it does not include things like rising Medicare premiums, which are one of the fastest growing costs in retirement. .Medicare recently announced that a big change is coming to Medicare cards. To prevent identity theft and to help protect the program from fraud, Medicare will be dropping Social Security numbers from Medicare cards and issuing new cards starting next year. … Continued

  • Best Ways To Save October 2012

    TSCL's legislative team is monitoring the tax reform negotiations closely, and we have serious concerns about several provisions that would impact older Americans, including the following five… .A study conducted by TSCL has found that Social Security benefits have lost 30 percent of buying power since 2000 over the same period that Medicare Part B premiums grew by 195 percent. Social Security benefits on the other hand have grown by only 43 percent. The findings represent an especially big loss in buying power of 7 percent from January of 2016 to January of 2017. .For those planning retirement however, it is the estimated dollar amount in Social Security benefits, not the replacement rate, that what one uses to determine a retirement budget, or how much more one will need to save for retirement. When one retires, it is the actual benefit amount, not the replacement rate that one must live on. One of the most frequent requests for services received by Social Security Administration is for an estimate of benefits. While no promises of benefits are made, millions of estimates are made annually. If the rules are changed abruptly, as they were for those born during the Notch period, this leaves no time to save for the shortfalls in benefits (if they can be foreseen ahead of time). … Continued

To see if your Members of Congress will be holding town hall meetings during the spring recess, click HERE or call their local offices. You can find contact information HERE. .When the Social Security Administration announced that the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2016 would be zero, a stunning thing occurred. The Medicare Trustees projected that the monthly Part B premium would increase by an unprecedented .50 (52%) between 2015 and 2016— from 4.90 to 9.30 per month. What does this have to do with the situation today? .A report conducted by the Congressional Management Foundation claims that this year's budget will force House member offices to trim an additional 90,000 dollars in each office. A reduction to staff positions could mean decreased constituent services as responsibilities are shifted. .The report adds that, "The pharmaceutical industry has already shattered records this year, spending an unprecedented million to lobby the federal government in the first three months of this year, according to the CSP, including .7 million from PhRMA. Stephen Ubl, the CEO of PhRMA, criticized H.R. 3 last month, claiming it would ‘destroy an estimated one million American jobs.' The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the biggest lobbying spender this year, has also come out against the bill, comparing it to ‘government price controls' and claiming it would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs. .The main purpose for the Senate's return was to work on confirming to office many of the appointments of the Trump administration. These include leaders of many government departments as well as judicial appointments. .Fifth, one new cosponsor – Representative Steve Cohen (TN-9) – signed on to the Nursing Home CARE Act (H.R. 4704), bringing the total up to twenty-five. If adopted, H.R. 4704 would protect Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries by more quickly codifying emergency preparedness rules for nursing home facilities that receive funding from the federal government. .This week, the House of Representatives was scheduled to consider legislation which would repeal the health care reform law. However, due to the tragic shooting in Arizona over the weekend—which left six people dead, eleven wounded, and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-8) clinging to life—the House schedule was cleared. .Seventy-eight percent of the prescriptions ordered by one Florida physician were for Schedule II drugs. For one beneficiary, this physician prescribed a 605-day supply of morphine, a 52day supply of oxycodone, a 460 - day supply of fentanyl, and a 34day supply of hydromophone. .I believe Congress and the President should take plans for deficit reduction elsewhere. Social Security is a self-funded program and has no place in the deficit reduction debate. I will continue to oppose the proposed cuts to the Cost of Living Adjustment for Social Security because it will hurt our most vulnerable seniors. The average senior who retires at 65 will lose about ,000 over 15 years if chained CPI were put into place. For seniors living on a fixed income it could greatly impact their quality of life.