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  • October 2013 Market Watch

    Alexandria, VA (June 14, 2011) Cost-of-living-adjustments (COLAs) are "overpaying" Social Security recipients, and the government needs to switch to an "improved" method of measuring inflation that will give them a "small trim". That's what deficit negotiators from both sides of the aisle are saying in making the case for the government to switch to a more slowly-growing Consumer Price Index (CPI) for calculating the annual Social Security boost. .Second, two new cosponsors – Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN) and Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS) – signed on to the bipartisan Concentrating on High-Value Alzheimer's Needs to Get to an End (CHANGE) Act (S. 2387), bringing the total up to eight. If adopted, it would direct the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to create programs that would promote early identification of Alzheimer's disease, improve support for family caregivers, and provide continuous care for those battling many forms of dementia. .The number of observation patients has exploded 88 percent over the past six years, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. Medicare has tightened rules for hospital admissions, and usually won't pay for admitted patients who should have been designated as observation status. Consequently, hospitals have increased their share of observation patients. But the rule is not the same for people's private insurance like Medicare Advantage. Most Medicare Advantage plans don't require their enrollees to have a three-day hospital admission in order to receive nursing home coverage, according to an analysis by Avalere Health research firm. … Continued

  • About Us Board And Staff Feed

    Using statistical data from the Social Security Administration, TSCL estimates about 88 percent of Social Security beneficiaries have received benefits during the 2009 – 2015 period and have been impacted the hardest. "With 64 percent of older Americans depending on Social Security for over half of their income, going without a COLA is a loss of income that most beneficiaries simply can't be expected to bear," Cates says. Spiking medical costs are causing retirees to go into debt, and run through their savings," he adds. .The report attributed the rapid increase to "an aging population, rising health care costs, and an expansion of federal subsidies for health insurance." In 2039, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal healthcare programs are expected to cost approximately 14 percent of the economy, which is double the 7 percent average that has held steady over the past forty years. .TSCL is continuing to work hard for any and all legislation that would accomplish those goals. … Continued

The Senior Citizens League supports legislation that would raise the income thresholds that subject Social Security benefits to taxation. .The TSCL survey found that, to improve Medicare's finances, seniors strongly support ramping up anti-fraud efforts, and better integration of care to reduce duplications of tests, services, and expensive imaging. What do you think? Take a poll. Visit TSCL's website at . .Survey participants also support making changes to modestly increase benefits by using a senior CPI, the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), to determine the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA), and to provide a boost of about per month. TSCL is meeting with Members of Congress to enact these changes. With 73% of survey participants reporting that their household expenses in 2015 rose by more than a month, while average Social Security benefits are stuck around ,250 due to low or no COLAs, TSCL is making a strong case that older Americans need a raise! .The exact mechanisms for enacting the provisions therein — such as requiring manufacturers to reveal their development costs — remain unclear. The industry has previously protected development data as a trade secret. The bills would also require "reasonable pricing clauses" be included in agreements between drug companies and agencies funding their work. They propose waiving exclusive licenses for COVID-19 drugs, allowing competitors to sell the same products as long as they pay the patent holder royalties. .The Senior Citizens League supports legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, and limit drug price increases to the rate of inflation. .Members of Congress receive their benefits through the District of Columbia's small business health options program (SHOP) exchange that was established under the 2010 health law. Effective January 1, 2014, Members of Congress had to give up their previous health benefits received through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) and get their insurance through the exchange. However, they remain eligible for employer contributions from the federal government (i.e., U.S. taxpayers) toward coverage, just as they previously received for their FEHB coverage. .Medicare is structured to pay more to providers based on how sick people are — not on making them well. Yet about one-half of all adults have at least one chronic condition, which is not only the most costly type of health problem to treat over time, but also the most preventable. .This past week, Reps. Jerrold Nadler (NY-8) and Richard Neal (MA-2) signed on to H.R. 1332, the Social Security Fairness Act. The total is now at 14Sen. Tom Udall (NM) signed on to S. 2010, the Social Security Fairness Act, bringing the total to two. .The House-passed bill eliminates the medical expense deduction, which approximately 5 million taxpayers over the age of sixty-five rely upon when their out-of-pocket medical costs total more than 10 percent of their annual income. The elimination of this deduction would be a catastrophic financial loss for those who find themselves in need of costly in-home or nursing home care. Congressman Kevin Brady (TX-8) – the chairman of the bicameral conference committee – said this week that he hopes to keep the deduction in place, but discussions remain up in the air.