News

  • Benefit Bulletin October 2018

    Your mail order pharmacy may require that your doctor fax the prescription and you will also mail in the original as well as other required forms, your check, or credit or debit card information. Be sure to find out when medications requiring refrigeration are shipped so you can be expecting them. In general, you can order refills after 60 days or so. .To date the government has no comprehensive estimate of the costs of such policies on the Social Security Trust Fund, or the cost of benefits based on illegal work. Nevertheless, Congress is studying a number of changes to Social Security that would cut the benefits of both future and current U.S. senior citizen beneficiaries who worked and paid into Social Security legally. .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. … Continued

  • Five Healthcare Reform Changes That Affect Your 2011 Medicare Coverage

    New research, however, suggests that Medigap substantially increases Medicare spending, because seniors with the policies are insulated from costs. Those with polices tend to receive more medical care than people who are required to pay some or all of the costs of their care out-of-pocket. According to the CBO, a 2010 study found that Medicare beneficiaries responded to increases in their cost sharing by reducing visits to physicians and use of prescription drugs.[2] "Making seniors pay higher initial Medigap cost-sharing affects both senior budgets, and senior health — especially if seniors forego necessary care," Cates notes. .Proponents of cutting benefits argue that Social Security, as it is currently structured, is unstainable because there are fewer workers to support current retirees. Social Security is estimated to run short of funds in about 15 years. Without changes and soon, Social Security benefits would have to be reduced by about 22% to match the amount of revenues that the program receives. .Throughout the hearing, the "big dog" in the room – as one witness referred to it – was the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). Each of the witnesses urged the Subcommittee Members to replace the current Medicare physician payment formula with a new model, saying that there's simply too much uncertainty surrounding the SGR. Though most seemed to agree, the price tag of repealing the SGR is daunting and the process of re-writing a billing system with 8,000 different codes will certainly take time. … Continued

Tax Reform Legislation Introduced in House .Older Americans have lost more than 22% of their purchasing power since 2000, and this year Social Security beneficiaries received no COLA despite a national survey indicating a majority reported higher costs. Do you support legislation that would give seniors an emergency COLA before the end of this year? .On Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to question Congressman Tom Price (GA-6), an orthopedic surgeon from Georgia who was nominated by President Trump to become the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). If confirmed, Congressman Price will lead the agency that has jurisdiction over Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and many other critical health programs. .Your doctor or provider accepts "assignment" or the Medicare approved payment, as payment in full. There may be some doctors in your area that accept assignment, but fewer do that anymore. You will need to call your doctor to find out if he or she accepts assignment. Many are charging more than the Medicare-approved amount and you or your Medigap plan will need to cover the "excess" charges. Even if you do locate a doctor who accepts assignment, a growing number of doctors are not accepting new Medicare patients. To find a doctor who accepts assignment call the customer service number of your Medigap supplement. Then call the physician to find out if he or she is accepting new Medicare patients. .HHS Announces 2014 Medicare Premiums, COLA .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. .Another major concern for those at the hearings was that the IPAB might inadvertently ration care. The law explicitly prohibits this, but many fear that without clarifying the definition of "rationing," there will likely be many discrepancies in the future. Rep. Phil Gingrey (GA) pointed out that what one calls rationing, another might simply consider reducing costs. .On Thursday evening, lawmakers in the House and Senate voted to pass a continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the federal government until Friday, December 22nd. TSCL is pleased that lawmakers successfully averted a government shutdown since failing to do so could have impacted the timely delivery of Social Security benefits. Physicians and other medical providers also could have seen delays in their reimbursements from the Medicare program if the federal government had shut down. .43% support very gradually increasing the Social Security payroll tax rate paid by employers and employees.