News

  • Seniors May Get Cola Next Year But Medicare Premiums Will Take It All Feed

    "Social Security Stops Trying To Collect On Old Debts By Seizing Tax Refunds," Marc Fisher, The Washington Post, April 14, 2014. .This week, TSCL endorsed two new bills from Congressman Lloyd Doggett (TX-35) – the Transparent Drug Pricing Act (H.R. 4116) and the Competitive DRUGS Act (H.R. 4117). If signed into law, the bills would promote transparency in the prescription drug industry and prevent anti-competitive pay-for-delay deals, in which brand-name drug companies pay generic drug makers millions of dollars to delay the introduction of their generic medicines to the market. .The last vaccine to quell a global viral scourge was the polio inoculation, which ended outbreaks that killed thousands and paralyzed tens of thousands each year in the United States. The March of Dimes Foundation covered the nominal drug cost for a free national vaccination program. … Continued

  • Benefit Bulletin April May 2021

    Which Medigap plan is best for you? To learn about Medigap plans and the coverage they offer you can find a chart comparing the coverage of plans A through N in the "2016 Medicare & You" publication on page 10You can download a copy online at www.Medicare.gov or call 1-800-Medicare ( 7) to request a copy. .According to the Center for Public Integrity, one of the nation's oldest nonpartisan investigative news services, home visits have risen sharply at many Medicare Advantage health plans. While visiting nurses and doctors don't offer any treatment during these visits, they do report exam findings to the patient's primary care doctor. Insurers say the free annual physicals offer a new benefit to help certain health plan enrollees stay fit and in their homes as long as possible. But critics, including some Members of Congress, are concerned the visits may be padding Medicare's bill. .Social Security Subcommittee Examines Information Technology … Continued

(Washington, DC) – The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) is calling on Congressional leadership to lift the federal budget debt ceiling and prevent a default on the federal debt — including the debt held by the Social Security Trust Fund. "Congressional inaction on the debt ceiling is a growing concern, " said TSCL in a letter to House and Senate budget leaders. "In prior debates to lift the debt ceiling, Social Security benefits have been used as a bargaining chip, and retirees have seen unexpected benefit cuts," the letter states. .In addition, U.S. Customs may be trying to clamp down on prescription drugs being shipped to American consumers from Canadian pharmacies. Although "reimportation" of prescription drugs from abroad continues to be illegal, Customs and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials have only intermittently seized shipments of Canadian drugs in the past. Canadian mail order pharmacies and drug-buying programs run by senior advocates reported earlier this year that the number of seizures has more than quadrupled recently. .Some deficit cutters contend that the out-of-pocket costs that Medicare beneficiaries pay will have to go up and seniors should pay more for their Medicare benefits. "This survey is powerful testimony to those who hold such beliefs," says TSCL Chairman Larry Hyland. "This survey indicates that they don't understand how much seniors already spend for their healthcare, and how many have already cut back," Hyland adds. "With the majority of seniors depending on Social Security for at least half of their income, and healthcare costs increasing several times faster than benefits, few beneficiaries can afford to pay any more than they already do for their healthcare," he notes. .TSCL disagrees, and we fear that if triggered, the IPAB's recommendations could result in increased costs for beneficiaries or decreased access to quality medical care. In the weeks ahead, we will continue to advocate for legislation to repeal the cost-cutting board in the House and Senate, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website. .If you have not filed a return for 2020, the IRS urges people with children to file one as soon as possible. Even if your grandson was not with you in 2020, eligible taxpayers have the opportunity to update information about changes in income, filing status or the number of qualifying children. The IRS is continuing to update information about this credit which can be found at: https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021. .'It´s not clear why the administration hasn't made a bigger push to line up votes to get a bill through the Senate and a deal with Congress, given strong public support to lower drug costs,' said Tricia Neuman, a Medicare expert with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. .Can Home Health Agencies Provide Rebates? .On its website the BLS explains that it calculates the COLA this way: .Congress is considering comprehensive immigration reform that would provide work authorization and with it, valid Social Security numbers, to an estimated 12 million immigrants working in this country illegally.(3) In 2004 Congress passed the Social Security Protection Act (P.L. 108-203) requiring immigrants to have work authorization at the time a SSN is assigned or at some later time, in order to become entitled under Social Security. (4)