News

  • Benefit Bulletin December 2014

    One of the options to address Social Security that appears to have widespread support is increasing the Social Security retirement age. Raising the age at which people would be eligible for unreduced Social Security benefits has been discussed by policy "wonks" for years, but has largely remained out of the discussion with the general public. However, this summer two high-ranking Members of Congress spotlighted the topic in a rare public airing that was discussed in the media and the general public. Within a week of each other, Rep. John Boehner (OH-8), the House Minority Leader, and Rep. Steny Hoyer (MD-5), the House Majority Leader, both advocated raising the Social Security retirement age. .President Obama Releases 2015 Budget .Mexican consulate officials are informing people about the availability of such benefits.Survivor claims are increasing due to recent violence in Mexico. … Continued

  • S 469 Affordable Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act

    As a result of the inadequate funding, both the both the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and the Disability Insurance (DI) programs have been struggling to serve the public. More than one million applicants are currently waiting to hear whether they qualify for DI benefits, and those who have appealed recent rejections must wait 600 days or longer for their cases to be re-heard. In 2017, 10,000 individuals died while waiting on their DI eligibility decisions. While waiting, they had no access to DI benefits or Medicare coverage, which recipients with long-term disabilities can receive after they are enrolled in the program for two years. .These trends are likely to continue a rapid climb in years to come. The first jump in the ESF coincided with the big increase in illegal immigration of 1970's. When Congress overhauled immigration laws in 1986, amnesty was offered to immigrants who could prove they were longtime, law-abiding residents. About 3.1 million were legalized, twice as many as the government expected. Because the law had no provisions for any new workers to enter, illegal immigration continued.(8) .The Covid-19 pandemic has both heightened the urgency of reining in pharmaceutical costs yet also made it harder for lawmakers to act. Drug makers say limiting their profits could hamper efforts to create a vaccine against the virus, but medicines to treat it come with significant price tags. Gilead Sciences, Inc., set the price for its widely used Remdesivir at ,340 for a five-day treatment. … Continued

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. .Prescription Drug Costs .The Medicare Part D "doughnut hole" – the gap in coverage that occurs when beneficiaries reach their initial annual payment limit – is costing many older Americans thousands of dollars per year. Not all beneficiaries hit the limit each year, but in a recent survey of TSCL's members and supporters, we learned that 28%, more than one-in-four respondents, fell into the doughnut hole in 2015. .However, price negotiations could be included later this year in a reconciliation bill, a fast-track budgetary move that only needs 51 votes to pass the Senate and cannot be blocked using a filibuster. .Both Senate Leader McConnell and President Trump have said they are in no rush to pass another virus-related aid bill, but the Democrats believe it is necessary to get relief out to individuals and businesses as soon as possible. .Medicare Doesn't Recover The Majority Of Overpayment Payment Amounts, .The second bill is H.R. 1215, which would establish an office within the Federal Trade Commission and an outside advisory group to prevent fraud targeting seniors and to direct the Commission to include additional information in an annual report to Congress on fraud targeting seniors. .Economists are saying that cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) overpay seniors and that recipients don't need so much money to maintain their standard of living. Cuts to annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) are a key provision of the deficit reduction plans on Capitol Hill, and TSCL is fighting the plans that would cut the benefits of more than 60 million beneficiaries. .According to information from the Medicare Rights Center, a nonprofit organization that provides Medicare counseling and educational programs, when you notify a Medicare Advantage plan after the move, then your mom's Special Enrollment Period begins the month you tell her plan, plus two more full months thereafter.