News

  • Q September 2018

    The 113th Congress: A New Opportunity for TSCL .We know that COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially severe illness, and death. .Francis Collins, the head of the National Institutes of Health, has said the government has some intellectual property rights. Moderna seems to dispute that view, saying it is "not aware of any I.P. that would prevent us from commercializing" a COVID-19 vaccine. … Continued

  • Category Legislative News Page 40

    "To lower the expected cost of these new benefits, House Democrats have proposed introducing the new dental benefits starting in 2028, ramping up the coverage over five years." .I'm helping my brother who has cognitive problems. He's enrolled in a Humana Medicare Advantage plan that covers prescription drugs in addition to providing hospital and doctor benefits. The plan seems OK, but I'm annoyed by numerous (often weekly) phone calls from the plan asking for permission to send out a visiting nurse. They say the visit is provided at no charge to get his blood pressure, and a physical. That sounds good, but my brother doesn't want strangers coming to his home, and I'm getting suspicious. Is this request legitimate? .According to an article in The Hill, a Washington, D.C., newspaper that covers legislative matters in Congress, it just might happen. … Continued

This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for two key bills that would strengthen the Social Security program. .SSA Reports Massive DI Overpayments .Some Seniors to Pay More for Drugs Under New Rule ."Miracle cures," which claim scientific breakthroughs or contain secret ingredients, are likely a hoax. .Some 13% of the people who receive both Medicare and Medicaid are 85 and older. The youngest Notch Babies turn 85 this year, while the oldest turn 9That's approximately 1.17 million. TSCL believes that roughly one quarter of Notch Babies receive Medicaid as well as Medicare. .League believes that tax reform is an opportunity to bring greater equity to the funding going into Social Security and to ensure that everyone pays fairly. .If the Social Security Administration announces a 1.3% COLA next month, an emergency COLA of 2.5% instead would make a big difference to your income over the next ten years and would also prevent Medicare Part B premiums from spiking any higher than they are already likely to go. .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 question is signficant in light of proposals to "reform" Social Security. Several proposals, including "progressive indexing" of the benefit formula, involve changes similar to those that were enacted in 1977 that led to the Notch disparity. When proposals to change the benefit formula are debated, Members of Congress, the media, and the public tend to focus on the anticipated percentage of reduction. The danger of doing this, however, is that the assumptions used at the time often bear little resemblence to what accually occurs.