News

  • Weekly Update For Week Ending July 11 2020

    Healthcare researchers are questioning the surge in medical testing, particularly the aggressive use of advanced radiology tests like CTs, MRIs and ultrasounds. Their use has become routine, but doctors are not necessarily diagnosing more diseases and the tests can expose patients to high levels of radiation that can cause cancer. Some critics blame "defensive medicine" to avoid malpractice suits, but that's only part of the problem. Some critics say that the tests are becoming a crutch as doctors have less and less time to spend with patients. And all say that the profit motives give doctors incentives to over prescribe the tests. .When we contacted the governor's office for evidence to back up DeSantis' comments, press secretary Cody McCloud didn't produce any studies or statistics. Instead, he cited the Florida Department of Health's contact tracing program, writing that it "has not yielded any information that would suggest any patients have been infected while travelling on a commercial aircraft." .If signed into law, the PRIME Act would take a number of steps to prevent and reduce fraud, waste, and abuse within the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Among other things, it would enact stronger fraud penalties, curb mistaken payments by the agencies, phase out the ineffective "pay and chase" practice, reduce the theft of physician identities, and improve the sharing of fraud data among states, agencies, and programs. … Continued

  • Legislative Update September 2011 Advisor

    Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-2) introduced H.R. 4998 on June 26, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. .After being suspended since November 2, 2015, the debt cap was reinstated last week. "Although the Treasury secretary is using ‘extraordinary measures' to fund the budget for now, a failure to lift the debt limit in time would affect all Americans, including the timely payment of Social Security benefits," says TSCL Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, Mary Johnson. .According to the committee's report, AbbVie has raked in more than 0 billion in net revenue from those two drugs since 2013, which the committee said was "driven in large part by AbbVie executives' decision to repeatedly raise the prices of Humira and Imbruvica." The company's top executives pocketed 0 million in compensation during that span, "much of which was directly linked to revenue increases," the report said. … Continued

To help protect the buying power of benefits, TSCL supports legislation that would provide a modest boost in benefits, base COLAs on the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) and guarantee a COLA no lower than 3 percent. To learn more, visit . ."Concern is high among older Americans that undocumented immigrants who illegally worked under fake, invalid, or fraudulent Social Security numbers may at some point receive benefits based on such work," says TSCL Chairman, Ed Cates. A survey conducted by TSCL, a nonpartisan seniors organization, found that 82% opposed the current government policy that allows Social Security to determine entitlement to Social Security benefits based on earnings from jobs worked without legal authorization. .If a COVID-19 vaccine yields a price of, say, 0 a course, vaccinating the entire population would bring a company over 0 billion, almost all of it profit. .How much would chaining the COLA cost you? Use TSCL's new Chained COLA Cut Calculator to calculate your loss. .Even if your income will be slightly higher in 2018 you should apply, because the income and resource limits are adjusted annually and will likely be somewhat higher next year. "Resources " refer to money in checking and savings accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Don't rule out applying just because you own your own home. Your home, car, household items, burial plot up to ,500 for burial expenses per person, and life insurance policies ARE NOT counted as resources. .According to the study, the Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) has increased benefits just 38% since 2000, while typical senior expenses have jumped 81 percent, more than twice as much. Seniors with average Social Security benefits in 2000 received about 6 per month, a figure that rose to ,129.80 by 201However, those seniors would require a Social Security benefit of ,477.00 per month in 2013 just to maintain their 2000 level of buying power. .House Democrats did not pre-negotiate terms with the GOP-Senate or the White House, so it is unlikely that the bill, called the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act will become law in its present form. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R- Ky.) has already pronounced the bill dead. But most observers believe it is the opening bid on the part of the House leaders to begin a process that will eventually lead to a fifth virus-related relief bill. .Action on Capitol Hill slowed down this week as Members of Congress returned to their home states and districts for the week-long holiday recess. Meanwhile, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) announced its support for Medicare fraud prevention legislation, and one key bill gained a new cosponsor. .The fact is there isn't much information yet— even though doctors and their staff are reporting huge amounts of data mandated by the 2010 health law. Based on what I've been able to learn, the Administration is still tinkering with the system.