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  • Category Legislative News Page 9

    Key Social Security Bills Gain Support .Action on Capitol Hill was slow this week as Members of Congress remained in their home states and districts to prepare for the November 6th election. They are not expected to return to Capitol Hill until after the Veterans Day holiday, on Tuesday, November 13th. TSCL would like to remind you that many Members of Congress will attend local events or hold town hall meetings in the upcoming weeks, giving voters an excellent opportunity to voice their concerns. We encourage you to approach your Senators and Representatives to request their support for fair cost-of-living adjustments and other key issues. .By making decisions now before her health changes, your sister can have more choices and a better chance of telling you "she only wished she would have moved sooner." Doing this together may have you saying the same thing. … Continued

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending August 22 2014

    In fact, according to TSCL's annual survey of senior costs, Social Security benefits have lost more than one-third of their buying power since 2000 because COLAs underpay recipients. TSCL supports using the CPI-E to determine COLAs that better take into account the spending patterns of older people. For well over a decade, TSCL has lobbied Congress to make the COLA more fair and accurate. TSCL is mobilizing seniors nationwide to contact Members of Congress. .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. .The week ended with a live speech from President Trump heralding the new legislation passed recently that makes mandatory the transparency of the cost of hospital treatments, supplies and prescriptions. Of most interest to TSCL is the high cost of prescription drugs. During our meetings with Congressional offices this week we left information with all of them concerning a large number of issues we are working on including prescription drug prices. … Continued

Government officials, like the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, can opt out of buying American drugs if the product is not produced "in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities" in the United States or buying the product in America would raise procurement costs by 25 percent. .Call your plan's mail-order service and compare the prescription costs, including any shipping. Often you can get a three-month supply of your prescription by mail for less money than you would pay for a one-or two-month supply purchased at a standard retail pharmacy, and pay nothing for shipping. But using mail order requires advance planning on your part because you need to allow up to two weeks for delivery. .The House of Representatives did not return to Washington but on Friday they held a vote on a resolution about whether to start conducting official votes by using proxies. To do so would end more than 200 years of precedent and now allow lawmakers serve as proxies for colleagues quarantined or otherwise stuck at home during the pandemic. .I Thought My Co-pay Would Be Why Did I Have To Pay 3.45? .Old vs. New LawЧMonthly Benefit Differentials .Budget Moves Through Committee .As we foresaw last week, Congress was not able to finish its work by the end of the day last Friday and had to pass two continuing resolutions (CR) in order to give themselves more time. The current CR runs through next Monday, the 28th. .This is the website of The Senior Citizens League ("TSCL"). .When attending town halls, find out how your candidate stands on this issue. Ask whether he or she supports expanding Medicare coverage to dental care.