News

  • Benefit Bulletin Februarymarch 2017

    "The president's plan to import policies from socialized health care systems abroad is disrupting our work [on Covid-19 therapies] and diverting our focus away from those life-saving efforts," the spokesperson said. "We remain willing to discuss ways to lower costs for patients at the pharmacy counter. However, we remain steadfastly opposed to policies that would allow foreign governments to set prices for medicines in the United States." .Please visit our Notch Reform Section for the most up-to-date information. .Taxpayers may receive part of their credit in 2021 before filing their 2021 tax return. … Continued

  • Biden Proposes Major Changes To Government Health Care Programs

    False and invalid Social Security numbers SSNs are supplied to employers virtually without any serious or immediate consequence. Illegal immigrants work using numbers belonging to another person, numbers that have been made up, by using "non-work" SSNs. Employers report the wages using these numbers or in some cases where no number exists, file the reports using a series of zeros in the SSN box (000-00-000).(7) In addition, immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally may work under one or more aliases. The unauthorized wages earned and reported under invalid SSNs represent a rapidly growing future benefit liability should Congress enact immigration reform that gives work authorization to immigrants working in this country illegally today. .In fact, when the COLA increases since 2000 are compared with the typical cost increases that retirees experienced over the same period, Social Security benefits have lost 34% of their buying power. COLAs increased benefits a total of 46 percent, while typical senior expenses have jumped 96.3 percent between 2000 through the first week of 201To put it in perspective, for every 0 worth of groceries a retiree household could afford in 2000, they can only buy worth today. .The fate of President Obama's controversial executive action on immigration remains tied up in court. The potential long-term financial impact of the actions on Social Security and Medicare remains unknown, and elected lawmakers have been unable to agree to immigration policy changes legislatively. … Continued

Passage of this new rule will allow the House to start conducting business on a larger scale than has been happening since the beginning of the coronavirus social distancing measures. .Additionally, in less than two years, the Social Security Disability Insurance trust fund will become insolvent, and approximately 11 million beneficiaries will be faced with a 20 percent cut in monthly benefits. Many lawmakers are hoping to divert funds from the retirement trust fund in order to address the funding shortfall, but according to our recent survey results, less than 1 percent of seniors support this method. Instead, TSCL will be advocating for policy solutions that would tighten the eligibility requirements for the Disability Insurance program and ramp up efforts to fight fraud, waste, and abuse. .In his opening statement, HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (TN) said: "Our focus today is on what happens to the cost of the drug after it is approved by the FDA. We will examine the path an approved drug takes from the manufacturer to patient, and how this path affects what the patient pays … This is a discussion that affects the well-being of every American family. It is important that we work together to conduct this fact finding in a bipartisan way." .Five years after IPAB's creation, it still has no appointed members and, due to record-low growth in healthcare costs, it hasn't been triggered to make recommendations to Congress yet. Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, says she doesn't expect it to be triggered until 201But hundreds of lawmakers have serious concerns about the prospect of the board since it would be comprised of unelected and unaccountable appointees. They are hoping to pass legislation that would do away with it by the end of this year. .As for job hunting tips, my book has a chapter called "Six Rules for Job Hunting." I discuss how to package yourself as the solution to an employer's problems, how to keep your skill set fresh and relevant, 21st Century networking techniques, and several other key strategies. .TSCL thanks those who donated, and remembers those who fought in World War II. Read one such remembrance, "My Friend Paris" contributed by TSCL member, John Seavers. .In order to correct the wrong done to those born during the Notch years, TSCL believes that some compensation should be provided. The Notch Fairness Act would provide victims of the Social Security Notch with a modest settlement payment or an increased monthly benefit calculation. .Upon introducing the bill, Rep. Negrete McLeod said: "For seniors living on a fixed income, this could greatly impact their quality of life … We must protect seniors and ensure those who are most vulnerable do not face greater economic insecurity due to rising medical expenses." By preventing the threshold hike from occurring, her bill would save the average senior nearly 0 a year in qualifying tax deductions. TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 4104, and we look forward to working with Rep. Negrete McLeod in the coming months to help build support for it. In the meantime, we encourage our members and supporters to contact their representatives to request their support for it. To find contact information for your elected officials, click HERE. .Although some people argue that the Congressional investigation against AARP was politically motivated, there is no escaping the fact that AARP's revenues from royalties – mostly from insurance sales – are more than two and half times higher than its membership dues (as of 2009).