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  • Legislative Update April 2019

    Here is an example from the SSA's Inspector General audit report: A beneficiary had been entitled to spousal benefits since February 200The beneficiary had not received retirement benefits (based on her own earnings) and earned delayed retirement credits between full retirement age and age 70. In January 2010, the beneficiary attained age 70, was eligible for a 5 monthly retirement benefit and was receiving a 9 monthly spousal benefit. Had SSA notified the beneficiary she was eligible for the higher retirement benefit, once she applied for those benefits, she could have received an additional ,345 from January 2010 through July 2013. .This week, lawmakers remained in their home states and districts to continue campaigning for the November 8th elections. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill in mid-November to begin the lame duck session of Congress. Until then, most lawmakers will be attending local events and holding town hall meetings in their home states and districts. .Changes are looming for Medicare and Social Security. Make your opinion count. Visit TSCL online at and take our monthly poll. We'll announce the results in upcoming issues of this newsletter. … Continued

  • Annus Horribilis Healthcare Costs Heres Must New Tool Price Health Services

    Consequently, Social Security recipients with the lowest benefits may not see much of an increase at all after Medicare Part B premiums are deducted. Those with benefits of about 0 or less are at risk of seeing the Part B premiums consume their entire COLA, leaving nothing extra left over to deal with other rising costs. .One of TSCL's top priorities again this year is for legislation to reduce the costs of prescription drugs. It is outrageous that we in the United States pay some of the highest prices in the developed world for the prescription drugs that we urgently need to preserve our health. .Rick retired from the U.S. Air Force as a First Sergeant with the rank of Master Sergeant in October of 1989 and makes his home in Warner Robins, Georgia, with his wife of 43 years, Pat. … Continued

For more information about town hall meetings near you in the days ahead, call the local offices of your Members of Congress. For contact information, click HERE. .A minimal source of supplemental benefits for seniors with extremely low benefits (Supplemental Security Income, or SSI). .In fact, generic medicines represent around 90 percent of all prescriptions dispensed in the U.S., and we depend on China for 80 percent of the core components to make our generic medicines. .TSCL feels strongly that the Guaranteed 3 Percent COLA Act would go a long way in ensuring the retirement security seniors have earned and deserve. We lend our enthusiastic support to H.R. 3588, and we look forward to working with Congressman Engle through the remainder of the 114th Congress to help build support for his important new bill. .The plan was blocked in lower courts after the state of Texas and 25 other states sued, saying that Obama had exceeded his authority. TSCL filed a "friend of the court" brief, in support of Texas and the other states, arguing concerns about costs to Social Security and Medicare. .Johnson says that the federal government is looking at the wrong market basket to determine the annual change in prices in the goods and services used by retired and disabled Americans. According to Johnson, had the government used a more appropriate inflation index that measures costs experienced by people age 62 and older, the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), retirees would get a COLA of 2.1 percent instead of 0.3 percent in 201"But instead, the COLA is based on the increased price of goods normally purchased by younger working adults," she notes. .According to a Social Security Administration Issue Paper, when Congress first enacted the tax on Social Security in 1983, it was estimated to affect only 10 percent of Social Security recipients. But the income thresholds have never been adjusted for inflation in more than three decades. "Today, the taxation of benefits hits almost everyone with any income in addition to Social Security benefits —even people with the most modest of bottom lines," Johnson says. "An older couple with ,000 is living at just 155% of the federal poverty level," Johnson points out. Had the income thresholds been adjusted for inflation since 1983, the ,000 threshold would be ,940 and the ,000 threshold would be ,284 according the Bureau of Labor Statistics. .Call on your Member of Congress and urge them to sign on in support of the Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act, and in doing so stand up for millions of American seniors who depend on their access to their doctors and healthcare providers for everyday and lifesaving care. .One Third of TSCL Survey Respondents Have Not Received Routine Dental Care in Two Years