News

  • Frequently Asked Questions About Tscl And The Social Security Notch Issue Feed

    TSCL's annual survey of senior costs indicates that Social Security benefits have lost more than 34% of their buying power since 2000 because the current inflation measure, the Consumer Price Index for Workers (CPI-W) doesn't accurately account for the larger share of income that seniors spend on healthcare. .Both bills were adopted by the Senate earlier this year and by the House two weeks ago. At a signing ceremony on Wednesday, President Trump said: "This is very strong legislation to end these ‘gag clauses' once and for all … Our citizens deserve to know the lowest price available at our pharmacies, and now that's what they'll be getting." ."Social Security was originally created to lift older Americans out of poverty," Johnson notes. "The annual COLA is intended to prevent erosion in the buying power of benefits," Johnson says. "Between the growth in healthcare costs and flat growth in benefits, the COLA is failing the very people it's intended to protect," she says. … Continued

  • Want To Know Ahead Of Time What Your Hospital Will Charge Forget About It

    Last week the U.S. House of Representatives announced it will not implement the President's directive for employees of the House, joining major companies in rejecting the option. .A major reason that the COLA is so low is the consumer price index that the government uses to calculate the increase. Under current law, the COLA is tied to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). That index surveys the spending patterns of younger working adults and does not include the market basket of goods and services that is more typical of people age 62 and over. The CPI-W gives greater weight to goods and services that younger workers spend more on, like gasoline prices and electronics, which have dramatically dropped in price over the past two years. It gives less weight to housing and medical expenses even though those two categories have experienced bigger price jumps over the past two years, and are the two biggest spending categories for older consumers. .To get answers to questions about Extra Help and to get assistance for choosing a drug plan, call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). You can call 1-800-MEDICARE ( 7) for the number or check with your Area Agency on Aging. … Continued

Second, two new cosponsors – Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN) and Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS) – signed on to the bipartisan Concentrating on High-Value Alzheimer's Needs to Get to an End (CHANGE) Act (S. 2387), bringing the total up to eight. If adopted, it would direct the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to create programs that would promote early identification of Alzheimer's disease, improve support for family caregivers, and provide continuous care for those battling many forms of dementia. .For more information, visit the website of the National Academy of Social Insurance at www.NASI.org and download a copy of "When Should I Take Social Security Benefits? ". Or watch a video "It Pays To Wait". .This week, lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill following a two-week spring recess, and one member of The Senior Citizens League's (TSCL's) Board of Trustees visited Capitol Hill to advocate for legislation that would improve the Social Security and Medicare programs. In addition, two key bills gained support in the House and Senate. .Second, one new cosponsor – Congressman Ro Khanna (CA-17) – signed on to the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) Act (H.R. 1251), bringing the total up to fifty-two. If adopted, the CPI-E Act would base Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) on the more fair and adequate CPI-E. Currently, COLAs are based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W), and they fail to keep pace with the inflation experienced by older Americans. .To help protect the buying power of benefits, TSCL supports legislation that would provide a modest boost in benefits, base COLAs on the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) and guarantee a COLA no lower than 3 percent. To learn more, visit . .August Recess Continues .The Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act (H.R. 574) also gained a cosponsor – Rep. Pete Gallego (TX-23) – this week, bringing the total up to thirty-five. If signed into law, H.R. 574 would repeal and replace the SGR, bringing increased stability to the Medicare program for both physicians and beneficiaries. .Legislation to allow the importation of less-costly FDA-approved prescription drugs from Canada and other nations is still pending in Congress, and TSCL continues to work for enactment. Seniors like you and your wife who order prescription drugs by mail from Canada faced a particularly tough decision about Medicare Part D. Either you enroll in a Part D plan and quite likely pay more than you do now, or don't enroll and face the risk of paying a steep penalty if you change their mind and sign up after the May 15 deadline. .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.