News

  • What Happens To Medicare Part B Premiums When Theres A Very Low Cola

    Our legislative team was pleased to see the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act advance out of the Ways and Means Committee this week, and we will be sure to monitor its progress as it moves to the House floor. Leaders expect it to be taken up during the week of June 15th, and it is expected to pass there with bipartisan support as well. For updates on the status of H.R. 1190, visit the Legislative News section of our website. .You will still need to follow guidance at your workplace. .The legislative proposal also does not specify whether the locality pay adjustment would be applied in addition to the COLA or used instead of a COLA. If the intention is to add a second adjustment in addition to the COLA my guess is that many retirees would welcome the additional boost. Should the proposal be intended to replace the COLA that brings a higher level of uncertainty to the annual adjustments than we already experience. For people who live in areas where private sector pay is on an even level with federal pay or lower, those retirees may wind up with little or no locality pay adjustment, perhaps over the course of many years. … Continued

  • Seniors And The Covid Vaccine

    Alexandria, VA (October 18, 2011) Irene H., a senior living in Central Virginia, will achieve a milestone this fall that few other 86-year olds can boast of. The thrifty senior, who takes three prescription medications every day, including an expensive brand-name eye drop for glaucoma, will cut her prescription drug costs by more than ,000 since 200Her secret? Every year during the fall Medicare Open Enrollment period, Irene learns about the changes in her drug plan for the upcoming year, and then compares all her options for drug coverage. She changes plans when she finds better coverage at a better cost. .Not surprisingly, TSCL surveys and email indicated that although Medicare costs continued to grow from 2010 to 2011, many seniors were forced to cut back and forego healthcare services. This undoubtedly was a major reason why government spending on Medicare remained relatively flat. The following table illustrates responses to a question from the TSCL 2011 Healthcare Cost Survey conducted in October 2011: .As you have learned, there's a long lag time between the year you earned the money and when you get the notice from Social Security. Social Security makes the adjustments based on your W2s and tax returns. Making matters worse, the earnings limit is adjusted annually and was even lower in prior years. In 2018 the limit was ,040 and in 2017, ,920. In addition, the notice you received would likely only pertain to one year of earnings, and you possibly could receive a similar notice next year and go through the process of withheld benefits all over again. … Continued

Help! Mom Moved In With Us, But Her Medicare Plan Isn't Accepted Here! .So, before these invaluable vaccines hit the market, we should talk about an actual price. Otherwise, we will be stuck paying dearly for shots that the rest of the world will get for much less. .Last October's debt deal contained surprise Social Security changes that will cost some Baby Boomer couples tens of thousands in anticipated Social Security income. While proponents say the changes were necessary to "close filing loopholes," TSCL feels the cuts included people who are too close to retirement. Worse, these changes were struck in a secret, closed-door "must pass" debt deal with no public debate. .TSCL is very supportive of the PRIME Act, since we believe that the failure to manage fraud results in higher taxes for all and higher premiums for Medicare beneficiaries. In addition, at a time when many deficit hawks are considering cuts to programs like Medicare and Medicaid, we believe it is critically important to ensure that scarce program dollars are being spent properly. TSCL looks forward to working with the sponsors of the PRIME Act to help build support for it, and we are hopeful that Congress will pass it into law by the end of the 113th Congress. .Congress Adjourns for Thanksgiving Break .Benefit reduction due to your ex-wife's age. — The maximum survivors benefit people can receive is limited to what your ex-spouse would have received if still alive. In 2016 she would have attained age 63, but her benefit would be reduced because she would not have reached her full retirement age, which is 66. .TSCL recently solicited membership support for three issues critical to seniors' needs: Social Security Fairness (COLA), Notch Reform, and the Anti-Totalization Agreement. Collectively, these issues represent key legislation that TSCL believes will help protect the earned benefits for our supporters and formed the focus of our grassroots Congressional petition campaign. This campaign centered on educating and calling on all U.S. Representatives to support the: Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act, Guaranteed 3% COLA for Seniors Act, Social Security Guarantee Act, Notch Fairness Act, No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act, and Social Security for Americans Only Act. .Medicare pays the plans a pre-determined monthly amount for each enrollee. Higher rates are paid for sicker patients, and lower amounts for people in good health. The "risk adjustment" policy is intended to avoid the problem of plans cutting corners on healthcare to boost profits. But the audits found pervasive problems with many plans overstating the severity of enrollees' medical conditions, with little documentation of the medical conditions being claimed. .There are, however, a number of ways that unauthorized workers can, and do, become entitled to benefits based on illegal work (see our "FAHow "Undocumented" Workers Are Becoming Entitled To Social Security" from the May 2012, Volume 17, Number 4 issue of The Social Security & Medicare Advisor. Despite a 2004 law forbidding illegals from claiming Social Security benefits, they are able to do so if at some point their status changes and they receive work authorization — as would happen under an amnesty. With work authorization, noncitizens can file a claim for Social Security benefits. Under current law when determining entitlement for benefits, Social Security uses all earnings for calculating the primary benefit amount, even if the earnings were for unauthorized work using fraudulent documents. All the individual needs to do is to supply evidence of the earnings, such as old W2s, and earnings in the ESF file would be "reinstated" to the account of the claimant.