News

  • New Poll 69 Of Seniors Favor Repeal Of Obamacare

    Passage of legislation in Congress is more complicated than most people realize. The Constitution allows each chamber of Congress to set its own rules for getting it done. .Johnson cautions, "The current inflationary trend may only be temporary, because prices today are compared with a big sudden drop in prices a year ago when the impact of COVID-19 first began to hit our economy." "The jump we see now is centered primarily on energy prices, but a number of other spending categories have stayed relatively flat," she says. .To the contrary, the majority of you who have taken our Senior Cost Survey in June and July — 56% — think we need to invest more in Medicare so that we can respond rapidly and more effectively to the next health crisis. COVID-19 affects us all, and is expected to continue to be a threat for months to come. TSCL believes that investing more in Medicare now pays off in protecting the health, and future, of all its beneficiaries. … Continued

  • Notch Bulletin June 2011 Advisor Feed

    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. .The trillion Senate Republican stimulus proposal comes with a measure that could curb federal spending in the future by reducing costs tied to Social Security, Medicare, and highway trust funds. .The number of Medicare patients in observation stays has jumped 69% in the past five years, according to federal records. They are also staying in the hospital longer. Even though Medicare recommends that hospitals decide within 24 to 48 hours whether to admit or discharge patients, the number of observation stays exceeding 24 hours have nearly doubled. … Continued

Two cosponsors – Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-5) and Sen. Dean Heller (NV) – signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 1332, S. 2010) this week, bringing the totals up to 166 in the House and 13 in the Senate. .This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for two key bills that would improve the Social Security and Medicare programs if adopted. .TSCL feels the closing of the World War II Memorial is a prime example of backwards Administration priorities. Access to that memorial should never be barred in the first place. Its construction was funded heavily by donations from the public rather than solely by tax revenues, and many donations came from Notch Babies who formed the bulk of the fighting forces during World War II. In fact, TSCL members and supporters alone donated over ,749 for the World War II Memorial Foundation. .Progress Stalls on CR Work .In 1977, Social Security was close to bankruptcy. Legislation enacted in 1977 changed the way benefits were calculated, beginning with retirees who were born in 1917 and who first became eligible for benefits in 197The changes were major, and the transition between the old and new method of calculating benefits not only took place over a very short period of time, it did not work as anticipated. .Most people who spend the night in the hospital would say they have been an inpatient. But over the past six years, rapidly growing numbers of Medicare beneficiaries have learned that they were never admitted as an inpatient — even though they have stayed in a hospital bed, received treatment, diagnostic tests, and drugs. .TSCL would like to thank Reps. Larry Bucshon (IN-8), Richard Hanna (NY-24), Mike Conaway (TX-11), Rodney Alexander (LA-5), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-2), Gregory Meeks (NY-6), and Christopher Smith (NJ-4) for taking the time to meet and discuss important issues for seniors. TSCL also met with top staffers in the following offices: Reps. Grace Napolitano (CA-39), Randy Hultgren (IL-14), Roscoe Bartlett (MD-6), Steve Southerland (FL-2), Dennis Kucinich (OH-10), and Peter Visclosky (IL-1). .MA enrollees could be impacted by the ACA's cuts in other ways, as well. They could begin to see higher premiums, deductibles, or co-pays in the coming years. They could also see reduced supplemental benefits like vision or dental coverage. According to another expert witness at the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee hearing – Robert Book of the Health Systems Innovation Network – by 2015, MA beneficiaries will see an average reduction of ,530 in benefits due to the reduced funding from the federal government, and in 2017 that number will grow to an astounding ,700. .Increase the retirement age: Raise both the eligibility age both for full benefits, currently at 66 and set to rise to 67 and, for the first time, raise the earliest eligibility age which is currently 62.