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  • Cola Announced 2015 Well Cover Rising Costs

    Finally, one new cosponsor – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-7) – signed on to Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky's (IL-9) Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs Act (H.R. 1776). The cosponsor total is now up to seventeen in the House. If adopted, it would take several steps to reduce prescription drug costs. It would require the federal government to negotiate lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries, allow individuals to import prescriptions from Canada, accelerate the closing of the Part D "doughnut hole," and cap monthly out-of-pocket drug expenses at 0, among other things. .This week, TSCL announced its support for three new bills: the Social Security Safety Dividend Act (H.R. 67), the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act (S. 41, H.R. 242), and the Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act (S. 64). .Only five weeks remain before the conference committee's December 13th deadline, and House and Senate appropriators are urging the conferees to settle on a top-line spending number even earlier – before the Thanksgiving recess begins on November 22nd. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (MD), Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said this week: "We believe that if an agreement on a discretionary spending number can be reached early, it will allow for more thoughtful and responsible spending decisions." … Continued

  • H R 456 Consumer Price Index For Elderly Consumers Cpi E Act

    We urge you to contact Members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor "The Notch Fairness Act." Suggest that by cutting the rate of improper payments due to waste, fraud and abuse, your elected lawmakers can correct the most improper payment of all, the disparity in benefits caused by the Notch and erroneous government assumptions. .On October 22, 2014, TSCL's Executive Director was interviewed on Fox Business about the 2015 COLA announcement. .The cost of veterinarian services is growing nearly three times faster than Social Security benefits. While retirees are making do with a 1.6% COLA in 2020, veterinarian services increased 4.7% from January 2019 to January 2020. Over the same period, costs for physicians of human patients rose just 0.7%. … Continued

However, others at Tuesday's hearing focused on the skyrocketing prescription drug costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries. In his opening statement, Ranking Member Ron Wyden (OR) said, "The fact is, seniors are getting pounded by drug costs. And in my view, there is an enormous amount of work that has to be done to guarantee that seniors have affordable access to the medications they need." .The CARES Act provides employers with incentives to retain workers on the payroll through a tax credit. In addition, employers are allowed to defer the employer portion of payroll taxes for 2020, with the taxes due in two equal installments by December 31, 2021, and December 31, 2022. .Old vs. New LawЧMonthly Benefit Differentials .The first is H.R. 446, the Protecting Seniors from Emergency Scams Act. .Source: The Federal Government's Long-Term Fiscal Outlook, Government Accountability Office, October 201"Monitoring Medicare+Choice, What Have We Learned?" Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., August, 2004. .I care deeply about guaranteeing that all Americans have access to food, regardless of their income. That is why I introduced this bill. .It accelerated the closing of the "doughnut hole." Under prior law, the Medicare Part D coverage gap or "doughnut hole" was set to close in 2020. The Bipartisan Budget Act accelerated the closing of the gap so that it will occur one year earlier, in 201Instead of paying a coinsurance rate of 30% in the "doughnut hole," beneficiaries will pay 25%. And instead of brand-name drug manufacturers providing 50% discounts in the doughnut hole, they will begin providing 70% discounts. This means that more than one million Medicare Part D beneficiaries will pay less for their prescription drugs next year when they reach the gap in coverage. .And, in case you had any doubts about why you need that Medicare Advantage plan in the first place, here are the general types of costs if you have Medicare Advantage plan coverage compared with having traditional Medicare with a Medigap supplement. ."Another factor affecting retirement income is the amount of the initial Social Security benefit when one first retires. Social Security benefits are not growing as quickly as in in previous decades," Johnson says. This is particularly true for middle to lower earning workers due to the slow growth in real wages over decades. According to a report by the Congressional Research Service, between 1979 to 2018, real wages have grown for top earners, but have stagnated or fallen for middle to lower earners. "That is reflected in the (often disappointing) initial Social Security benefits of new retirees," Johnson says.