News

  • Legislative Update August 2011 Advisor

    In 1977, Social Security was close to bankruptcy. Legislation enacted in 1977 changed the way benefits were calculated, beginning with retirees who were born in 1917 and who first became eligible for benefits in 197The changes were major, and the transition between the old and new method of calculating benefits not only took place over a very short period of time, it did not work as anticipated. .Members of Congress remained in their home states and districts to continue the summer recess this week. They are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, September 6th. In the meantime, most Members of Congress will be holding town hall meetings in their home states and districts, presenting constituents with excellent opportunities to have their most pressing questions answered. TSCL encourages its members and supporters to attend these events and to voice their concerns about important Social Security and Medicare issues like inadequate cost-of-living adjustments and skyrocketing prescription drug prices. .Ask your doctor if you have alternate insulin options to control your blood glucose levels. Novolin may be one of them, and it may be less expensive, but it acts differently than Lantus. Ask your doctor if there are any dietitians working with the clinic who can help you reduce your reliance on Lantus and thus the quantity you need to use. Perhaps you can take a combination of Novolin and Lantus. … Continued

  • Medicare Pays More For Drugs Than Medicaid

    According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), for a person who retired at age 65 with average wages, a maximum benefit disparity of 10% would have arisen between the highest benefit under the old rules and the lowest benefit under the new rules if the 1977 assumptions had materialized. Under the economic conditions that actually arose, the disparity was 25% (6). .On Thursday, TSCL held its first ever town hall meeting with great success in North Carolina's 11th Congressional District. TSCL would like to thank Congressional Candidate Mark Meadows for taking time out of his busy schedule to address concerned members and supporters. . Contact your doctor's office and alert them to this dilemma. Ask if they have emergency samples of Lantus and your blood pressure medicine that they can provide, or if they can give you the contact number of programs that can help you. … Continued

7 million immigrants have a Social Security number issued in their names — obtained either by using a fraudulent birth certificate, or overstaying a visa that has expired. The actuary said this group can "work, pay taxes, and have earnings credited to their record for potential benefits in the future." .The potential cost of illegal immigration on federal benefit programs is for now still flying under the radar as political candidates vie for votes. Latinos are becoming a key electorate group. In 2010, The National Council of La Raza estimated that 20 million Latinos were eligible to vote in the 2010 elections — representing the fastest electorate growth rate of any group in the U.S. ."The idea that we would allow ourselves to be held hostage in an emergency is mind-boggling," said David Mitchell, head of Patients for Affordable Drugs, an advocacy group. .There are immediate fixed annuities — the amount of the monthly payment does not change, and immediate variable annuities in which the monthly income is adjusted to the rate of return on stocks, bonds and cash investments held by the annuity. .Healthcare Debate Continues in Senate .TSCL strongly supports passage of the waiver legislation because of the potentially severe negative consequences they would eventually have on Medicare patients. .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. .Sen. Barbara Mikulski (MD), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, stated earlier this week, "What I hope to be able to do is keep the government open, to avoid a government shutdown, to do no harm, and to be as boring as possible." The House planned to vote on a package that would simply extend current funding levels through mid-December on Thursday, and the Senate was set on taking it up next week. .TSCL recently asked their members and supporters how no COLA in 2016 would impact their budgets. "They told us they will struggle to cover the costs of prescription drugs, car repairs, property taxes, rising food costs, and even their most basic needs next year," Cates says. "Simply put, Americans living on a fixed income cannot afford to go without a COLA, and we are concerned about the impact recent years of record - low COLAs will have on the long-term adequacy of benefits for millions of people who depend on COLAs," Cates explains.