News

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending December 25 2015

    Your husband would need to apply for Social Security disability benefits to learn if his medical condition meets the Social Security Administration's definition of disability. But before getting started, it's important to understand your choices, since your husband is also old enough to start Social Security retirement benefits. .Social Security Benefit Cuts Need to be Stopped .Of particular importance is the portion of income that seniors and the disabled must spend on each particular category. Under the CPI-W, out-of-pocket medical costs are weighted or assumed to account for only 5.6% of total expenditures. National surveys indicate that Medicare beneficiaries spend far more. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that median out-of-pocket health care spending as a share of income for Medicare beneficiaries was about 16.2% by 2006. … Continued

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    The amount you get from Social Security may surprise you. While the amount you receive depends on how many years you worked, your earnings, and the age at which you start benefits, the average monthly Social Security payment today is about ,100. People who retire with average benefits will receive about ,200 in 2011 prior to Medicare premium deductions. With people spending as much as 25 years in retirement, people who retire today with an initial benefit of ,100 can expect to receive more than 6,800 in Social Security over 25 years. But that assumes no changes to cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). .Second, one new cosponsor also signed on to the Social Security Administration Fairness Act (H.R. 6251), bringing the total up to thirty-five. The new cosponsor is Representative Ron Kind (WI-3). If adopted, H.R. 6251 would improve the administrative funding of the Social Security Administration, implement a moratorium on field office closures, and eliminate two waiting periods for Disability Insurance beneficiaries. .Congressman Elijah Cummings (MD-7) – Chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee – announced his committee's investigation into twelve of the largest pharmaceutical companies in January. He said, "The goals of this investigation are to determine why drug companies are increasing prices so dramatically, how drug companies are using the proceeds, and what steps can be taken to reduce prescription drug prices." The first hearing that his committee held in the 116th Congress examined the causes of rising drug prices. … Continued

Unlike many other organizations TSCL accepts no government funding -- this leaves us free to truly represent the interests of supporters like you. .Background Information: Social Security beneficiaries received another record-low cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of just 0.3% this year. But if the COLA were based on a more accurate measure of inflation for seniors like the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), they would be receiving an increase of 2.1% according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Question: Do you support legislation that would give older Americans a more fair and adequate Social Security COLA? .According to the group, the plan would reduce the deficit by trillion and it would save enrollees approximately ,500 per year, but it's controversial for two major reasons. First, it would completely eliminate traditional Medicare, whereas many other reform proposals would keep it as an option. Second, those already enrolled in Medicare would be affected by the transition, which would have a 2014 start date. Other reform proposals would delay implementation to protect seniors from any drastic or sudden changes. .In 2008, an audit by the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Office of Inspector General found that spouses did not always receive the higher retirement benefits due them. Although 18,768 spouses were identified as eligible for higher retirement benefits in that audit and the SSA developed a notification letter, the agency took no further action to notify beneficiaries – citing "limited resources." As a result, these spouses never received the higher retirement benefits for which they were eligible. .Food and Drug Administration Issues Vaccine Fraud Alert .Recently we received the following from one of our readers: .What are the waiting periods and exclusions? You can find dental plans that cover two cleanings and check-ups a year, but it's not uncommon for dental plans to require a year or two waiting period before covering basic fillings, or crowns and implants. Some plans will not cover pre-existing conditions, so if you are switching dentists and you are in the middle of getting bridge work done, the new dental plan may not cover prior dental work in progress. ."Chaining" the CPI would be a deficit reduction double-hitter. The CPI is used to calculate COLAs, a host of other federal retirement benefits (like military) and federal income tax exemptions, deductions and tax brackets. Thus, switching to a more slowly growing measure would dramatically cut government spending on the annual boosts for Social Security and a host of other federal benefit programs, in addition to quietly raising everyone's taxes. .It is bad enough that non-medical professionals are involved in criminal activity like this but for a doctor to be part of it is outrageous.