News

  • Benefit Bulletin October 2018

    TSCL believes that the extreme cost increases are putting Medicare beneficiaries and funding for Part D at risk. "Medicare must be given the authority to negotiate pharmaceutical prices with manufacturers for covered Part D drugs," says Cates. How are rising healthcare costs affecting you? TSCL wants to hear from you, visit . .To receive benefits on your ex-spouse's record, you must be unmarried, and your ex-spouse must be entitled to a Social Security retirement or disability benefit. But don't try to take it sooner than age 66, or you will lock in a permanent reduction for your own retirement benefit, even if you take it later. .What would you say are the three most important decisions to maximize Social Security? … Continued

  • Biography Of Dr John Haldi Feed

    The jury is still out on value-based health systems, and whether they can save any significant amount of money remains to be seen. The Congressional Budget Office issued a recent report outlining a number of issues and unintended consequences such as providing an incentive for providers to improve their "quality rankings" by avoiding sicker patients. Critics say that the system places a new burden on primary care doctors that would potentially punish providers financially for patients' bad health habits and behaviors. .First, one new cosponsor – Representative Greg Walden (OR-2) – signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 1205), bringing the total up to 19If adopted, the Social Security Fairness Act would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – two provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, police officers, and other state and local government employees each year. .But changes to illegal immigration enforcement can have long-term financial implications for federal benefit programs, including Social Security and Medicare. With work-authorization and valid Social Security numbers, even noncitizens can potentially become entitled to Social Security benefits with enough years of earnings or a change of legal status. At issue is whether work prior to obtaining legal status and valid Social Security numbers would count toward entitlement to Social Security and Medicare benefits — under current law it does. … Continued

The Mayo Clinic has put out the following information as a way of helping you decide what it is that you may be suffering from. You are advised that if your symptoms are the same as in the past you are likely suffering from allergies again. But if there is any variation you should get tested for Covid. And if you have any doubt, getting tested for Covid is probably the right thing to do, especially if you have not been fully vaccinated. .Mary Katherine was 90 when a stroke left her paralyzed on one side of her body and unable to speak. It was 1996 and at the time Medicare had a cap on physical and speech therapy services, which only allowed for a limited number of therapy sessions to help Mary Katherine regain the ability to walk, feed herself, and speak. The paltry coverage of therapy sessions from Medicare did not provide Mary Katherine with enough time or therapy to make much of an improvement in her physical health. Mary Katherine, who received a Social Security benefit of less than 0, couldn't afford more therapy and never recovered her speech. She remained paralyzed for the rest of her life, which she spent as a Medicaid patient in a nursing home. .Earnings reports with incorrect or incomplete information have been a long–standing problem. They can be caused by something as simple as a transposed Social Security number, or a name change when a woman gets married or divorced. Accurate earnings are critical in order to calculate benefits for workers and their dependents. The most recent data indicates there has been a significant jump in both the number of these mismatched reports and the value of wages. SSA Inspector General Patrick P. O'Carroll stated in testimony before Congress that "we believe the chief cause of wage items being posted to the [earnings suspense file] instead of an individual's earnings record is unauthorized work by noncitizens."(8) .Other priorities in 2015 will include advocating for a more fair and accurate Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, monitoring the continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and protecting Medicare Advantage enrollees from harsh and unforeseen benefit cuts. .In addition, on Wednesday, the Social Security Administration announced that seniors will receive a 1.5 percent Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2014, which is slightly lower than 2013's 1.7 percent COLA, and is far lower than the 3 percent average COLA over the past thirty years. Officials also announced on Wednesday that the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security payroll tax will increase in January from 3,700 to 7,000. In a press release, SSA noted that about 10 million workers will pay higher taxes in 2014 as a result of the increase. .Is Social Security A Ponzi Scheme? How Much In Social Security Income Can I Expect To Get? .Obviously we will continue to push for passage of those bills and keep you updated about their progress as things develop. .Sources: 0.3% COLA Announced, The Social Security Administration, October 19, 201"Long Term Impact of Low COLA Growth," Mary Johnson, TSCL, August 31, 2016. .Your responses to our annual Senior Surveys are a key means to helping us convince Congress to move forward on key issues. Please take our 2021 Senior Survey.