News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending February 17 2017

    The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently issued a cost estimate citing the Joint Committee on Taxation's estimates of the cost for Social Security of about 6 billion in reduced SS revenues between 2020 -2021, increased revenues from repayments of 9 billion between 2022-2023, and about billion in higher outlays which would be due to administrative and debt costs. The CBO assumes that some companies will go out of business and would be unable to repay deferred taxes — about billion in Social Security revenues. The CBO warned that uncertainties its estimate of the CARES Act are high, and that actual outcomes could vary significantly. .The TSCL study looks at the costs of goods and services that are typically purchased by most Social Security recipients. This includes expenditures such as the Medicare Part B premium, which is not measured by the index currently used to calculate the COLA, yet is one of the fastest growing costs that retirees face. Of the 39 items analyzed, 27 exceeded the COLA while 14 were lower than the COLA. .And then it added this, "In fact, the study found that some patients who see increased drug prices will indiscriminately cut back on all drugs—regardless of how impactful those drugs are on their health. … Continued

  • Category News Press Releases Page 13

    To qualify for special enrollment in a Marketplace plan, your husband will need to select a plan within 60 days after losing his job-based coverage. If you need coverage in the time between losing job-based coverage and beginning coverage through a Marketplace plan, your husband may want to continue COBRA coverage from his former employer's plan. He should learn more about his special enrollment period, and coverage at www.HealthCare.gov or by calling 1-800-318-2596. .On Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee approved legislation that would repeal and replace the sustainable growth rate (SGR), which is the flawed formula that is currently used to determine reimbursements for physicians who treat Medicare patients. The SGR regularly calls for steep pay cuts for doctors and other providers, threatening beneficiaries' access to medical care. .When Medicare Part B premiums spiked in 2015, Congress was not focused on the adequacy of the COLA. Instead, it was focused on the Medicare Part B funding lost when beneficiaries were protected from paying increased premiums. While the subsequent Medicare Part B premium increase for 2016 was reduced, it was still a very substantial increase of 16%, and all beneficiaries were required to repay the costs in higher Part B premiums in following years. Beneficiaries saw no growth in their net Social Security benefits in 2016, again in 2017 when the COLA was just 0.03% and, about half of all beneficiaries were once again affected in 2018 when a 2% COLA became payable. … Continued

Mary: What is the "anchor effect" and could you give an example? .Since 2000, cost-of-living-adjustments (COLAs) increased Social Security benefits a total of just 43 percent. Meanwhile typical senior expenses have jumped 86 percent, according to TSCL's 2017 Loss of Buying Power Study. The following table illustrates ten of the fastest growing costs since 2000. .Also, this week the Trump administration announced plans to keep 90 days of medical supplies on hand to help gird against future flare-ups of the outbreak, something that we think should have been made national policy a long time ago. .What you can do: To sign a petition, click here. .Because you are over 65, you are subject to Medicare's Special Enrollment Period rules that apply to the loss of health insurance coverage through you or your spouse's former employer. You need to enroll in Medicare Part B during the 8-month period that begins the month after your husband's employment ends or the employer health coverage ends, whichever happens first. Coverage under COBRA, however, would NOT be more than a temporary option for you because you would NOT be eligible for a Special Enrollment Period when that coverage ends, so don't wait to enroll in Medicare. You have 8 months to sign up for Part B and Part D without penalty, starting after the loss of your husband's job. .Payments to the plans were cut 6 billion over 10 years under 2010 healthcare reform legislation. So far the program has remained relatively stable and continues to grow in enrollment. .Action on Capitol Hill this past week was limited as Congress re-convenes this week. Meanwhile, a Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) report indicates the effects of House member office budget cuts, and the Congressional Budget Office released a report that would save Medicare 500 billion dollars. .It turns out that PhRMA "spreads that money around to political campaigns across the country as well as other trade groups like the American Action Network (AAN), a conservative dark money group that launched a million ad campaign to defeat the Democrats' H.R. 3 proposal, which would allow Medicare to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs and cap out-of-pocket drug costs at ,000," again, according to the Salon.com report. .Early this week, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Social Security Administration released a 10-year study that found nearly billion in overpayments to around 4 million enrollees in the Disability Insurance program. Approximately 45 percent of all disabled beneficiaries have been overpaid in the past decade, the report's authors concluded.