News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending October 14 2016

    TSCL believes that the Delay until Fully Functional Act represents a fair solution to the technical problems that the HealthCare.gov website has been experiencing for the past month. Millions of Americans – including seniors under the age of sixty-five – have been unable to purchase insurance coverage through the new marketplace due to the technical glitches. According to the law, those who fail to enroll before March 31st will be faced with a tax penalty of either or 1 percent of income, whichever is higher. .Key Social Security Bills Gain Support .Members of Congress adjourned for the holiday recess this week, with the Senate returning on Thursday to resume Fiscal Cliff negotiations. … Continued

  • Medicaremedicaid Dual Eligibles May Be In For Health Plan Change

    Earnings from work could cause Social Security to withhold your benefits. Should you be successful in your job search, your earnings could affect what you receive in Social Security benefits. Social Security will deduct in benefits for every you earn above the annual limit, which is adjusted annually and is ,720 in 201If for example, you started a job and earn ,000 in 2017, you would earn ,280 more than the exempt ,720. That means Social Security with withhold about ,140 in benefits. If you are receiving a reduced survivors monthly benefit of 5, or ,100 annually, then you would receive only 0 in benefits for the entire year of 201You would receive no benefits at all for 10 months out of the year. .If your prescription drug costs are outgrowing your ability to pay for your medicine, look into Medicare's "Extra Help" program. The program helps pay for some, or most, of the costs of Medicare prescription drug coverage, depending on income. In addition, there's no doughnut hole coverage gap that leaves you footing the bill for a larger share of the co-insurance, there's no late enrollment penalty, and you have the chance to switch plans at any time. According to the 2018 Medicare & You Handbook, drug costs in 2018 for people who qualify will be no more than .35 for generics and .35 for brand-name drugs. .The Medicare Trustees estimated in their April 2020 annual report that the base 2021 Part B premium would rise by .70 (6 percent), from 4.60 to 3.30.[1] The annual report was written prior to the coronavirus national emergency and does not incorporate the effects of the coronavirus caused recession, the interaction with an extremely low COLA. … Continued

Oversight Committee Examines Prescription Drug Market .Prescription Drug Re-Importation – Making safe, secure re-importation a reality. .,000 Notch Fairness Act Reintroduced .The federal government negotiates prescription drug prices for Medicaid and for veterans, but it is not allowed to negotiate lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. Do you support that policy? .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. .On Tuesday, with a vote of 31-8, the House Ways and Means Committee voted to advance the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act (H.R. 1190) – a bill that TSCL supports enthusiastically. H.R. 1190, if signed into law, would repeal the controversial Medicare cost-cutting board that was created by the ACA back in 2010. .A U.S. federal judge has temporarily blocked President Obama's immigration program that defers deportation for almost 5 million illegal immigrants. Responding to a lawsuit filed by 26 states, the judge did not rule on the legality of immigration orders, but said there was sufficient merit to warrant a suspension of the new program while the case goes forward. .The U.S. has already hit the most recent debt limit on March 2nd, just one month after the government shutdown ended. The U.S. Treasury is currently using "extraordinary measures" to temporarily keep the federal government funded, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Treasury will run out of cash near the end of the fiscal year (September 30, 2019) unless Congress takes action. .Apply for Medicaid coverage while you wait. Check with a counselor at your local area Agency on Aging or local Medicaid department. Medicaid can take several months to start.