News

  • Benefit Bulletin August 2021

    As seniors know from experience, even as we face ever-higher prescription drug prices every year, we face increased Medicare premiums but also reduced Social Security COLAs. .Studies show the vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna, the only two approved by the U.S. so far, are fully effective at one to two weeks after the second dose, depending on the vaccine; while they prevent disease, it is not clear whether they prevent asymptomatic infection .The high cost of treatment is a frequently cited barrier by those who are not getting the dental care they need. Elizabeth H., a retiree living in Colorado told us "I do not have the ,000 I was told that I needed to get my teeth fixed. They need to either be pulled and a bridge put in, or root canaled. Being on a limited income, I do not see getting any of this done, and so it affects my health negatively. Without dental care, I'm not as healthy as I could be." … Continued

  • Biden Administration Opposes Lawsuit That Would Stop Drug Importation

    Social Security Trust Fund is the biggest government account holding U.S. debt — and the U.S. Treasury owes the Trust Fund more than .8 trillion. .While others want to privatize and dismantle Social Security, I'm fighting to honor our commitments to retirees and fix a broken system. .Medicare Part D is a rip off. My wife and I will pay more for our medication now, because we cannot afford to take the risk of not enrolling. We were getting most of our drugs from Canada, but under Part D we not only have to pay a monthly premium, but also have co-pays, plus much higher prices for our medication to meet the deductible or if we hit the doughnut hole. Forcing us to do this is simply not fair. What happened to the legislation to legalize the importation of drugs from Canada? … Continued

The Senior Citizens League strongly believes allowing the HHS Secretary to negotiate with the drug companies is one important way to reduce the costs of drugs for seniors. We will be continuing our efforts to get Congress to pass legislation that would make this possible. .The situation is affecting lower-income seniors with modest resources because states require single seniors to exhaust nearly all of their assets, including their home equity, to qualify for Medicaid. Meyer reports that "Federal Medicaid rules allow states to exempt the home from consideration of financial eligiblilty if the family is making a good faith effort to sell, but not all states do." Depending on where they live, seniors may not qualify for Medicaid if they can't sell their home. .The CBO recently evaluated a number of different policy options for changing Social Security, noting three broad approaches that have received considerable attention, including: .CBO is strictly nonpartisan; conducts objective, impartial analysis; and hires its employees solely on the basis of professional competence without regard to political affiliation. CBO does not make policy recommendations, and each report and cost estimate summarizes the methodology underlying the analysis. .Sources: "Do You Like Your Doctor? Obamacare Drives UnitedHealth to Downsize its Medicare Physician Networks," Avik Roy, Forbes, November 18, 2013. .The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the rule would be mandatory and will focus on 50 single source drugs and biologic drugs that comprise the largest majority of Medicare Part B drug spending. .TSCL has not given up our goal of Notch reform. In recent months we have been working with long-term Notch reform allies in Congress to ensure that Notch Babies', needs are protected from deficit reduction plans that would affect people who are currently retired. .Lawmakers Avert Government Shutdown ."CBO's updated estimate, based on the latest economic data, continues to show that the Average Wage Index will likely drop due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and millions of Americans will receive lower Social Security benefits unless Congress acts. A medium earner in the affected cohort could lose 0 a year for the rest of their lives. While this is a smaller cut than initially estimated, Congress must still fix this flaw in the benefit formula. These are earned benefits, and already many seniors are just scraping by with the current modest benefits. That is why I will be reintroducing the Social Security COVID-19 Correction and Equity Act to fix the benefit formula and ensure it does not happen again," said Larson.