News

  • Ask The Advisor June 2012 Advisor

    This week, one House Subcommittee heard from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) about its most recent report to Congress, which was titled Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System. In addition, the 2013 recovery estimate was released for the Senior Medicare Patrol, and The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) saw support grow for two key bills. .Most of the overpayments – nearly 40 percent – went to those who began working or had a positive change in income. Another 24 percent of the overpayments went to those who had a medical improvement and no longer qualified. Around 7.5 percent of the overpayments went to those who became imprisoned, and 7.2 percent went to deceased beneficiaries. According to the report, the agency was able to recover approximately .1 billion in overpayments. .Your total earnings, including your earnings now until you stop working. … Continued

  • Billions Earned Under Fake Social Security Numbers Could Calculate Benefits

    Because your former son in-law was employed prior to applying for benefits, he was likely approved for SSDI. The program provides benefits to more than 10.9 million disabled beneficiaries, including some spouses and dependent children. To qualify for SSDI, the Social Security Administration determines whether applicants are unable to do any work because of a medical condition that is expected to last more than one year, or to result in death. Beneficiaries receive monthly payments for as long as they remain in the program. If disabled people live to their full retirement age, they transfer to the Social Security retirement program but their benefits do not change. They also qualify for Medicare benefits after a 2-year waiting period. .There are now efforts for legislation to boost domestic manufacturing of pharmaceutical products. There is a new measure that would require the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to "convene a committee of experts to analyze the impact of U.S. dependence" on foreign medicines and to make recommendations to Congress. There is also an effort to use the fiscal 2021 defense authorization bill to strengthen U.S.-based pharmaceutical manufacturing and advance "make it in America" policies that favor domestic drug-production plants. .What you can do: Contact your Members of Congress and tell them that cutting the COLA to reduce the deficit is unacceptable. To provide income seniors can rely on over a retirement, COLAs needs to keep up with rising costs, something they don't do well enough now. … Continued

"'We find no indication that these reductions in demand affect only ‘low-value' drugs; on the contrary, those at the highest risk of heart attack and stroke, who would benefit the most from statins and antihypertensives, cut back more on these drugs than lower-risk patients.'" .The Social Security Administration maintains an "earnings suspense file" which tracks wages sent in by employers, for earnings that cannot be posted to individual workers' records because there is no match for the name and Social Security number. The Congressional Research Service reports that wages represented in the earnings suspense file currently amount to approximately 0 billion. According to Social Security Administration Inspector Patrick P. O'Carroll, "We believe the chief cause of wage items being posted to the earnings suspense file instead of an individual's earning record is unauthorized work by noncitizens." .Provide dog or cat boarding. If experienced and good at handling dogs and cats, consider giving vouchers for pet sitting services to family or friends who may be traveling. Choose the pets that you know and get along with, consider where the animals will stay, and how well the visiting dog or cat will get along with your animals. .Unlike income brackets that are adjusted annually, the income thresholds that subject Social Security income to taxation are fixed. Because of this, the number of Social Security recipients who are hit by the tax has increased substantially over the years as incomes have grown. .When asked whether the waiting periods for disability and Medicare benefits should be eliminated, 67% of TSCL's poll participants support eliminating the waiting periods for both Social Security and Medicare. Only 18% supported keeping both waiting periods, 9% supported eliminating the 2-year wait for Medicare alone, and 5% supported eliminating the 5-month wait for Social Security alone. .Research that I've conducted over more than 20 years indicates that retirees would receive a higher COLA in most years using a "seniors" CPI, rather than by using the current method of indexing which is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). One of the bigger problems with using the CPI-W is the fact that retirees spend their money very differently than younger working adults. Retirees must spend more on healthcare and housing, and less on gasoline and consumer electronics. .Scientists do not know why vaccinations might reduce the risk of Alzheimer's. But previous research has hinted at a connection. And there are several potential explanations. .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 this policy? .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.