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  • Category Issues Soical Security Notch Articles Feed

    Alexandria, VA (October 24, 2011) In January, for the first time in two years, Social Security recipients will get a sorely-needed cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Benefits will rise 3.6% in 2012, following a surge in inflation that occurred even while seniors had no annual increase to help meet rapidly rising prices. Stagnant COLAs may soon be a fact of life for beneficiaries - a change that would also lower lifetime Social Security benefits, especially for Baby Boomers, warns The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups. ."The president's plan to import policies from socialized health care systems abroad is disrupting our work [on Covid-19 therapies] and diverting our focus away from those life-saving efforts," the spokesperson said. "We remain willing to discuss ways to lower costs for patients at the pharmacy counter. However, we remain steadfastly opposed to policies that would allow foreign governments to set prices for medicines in the United States." .Social Security Notch Legislation Introduced … Continued

  • Supreme Court Decision Could Have Big Consequences For Social Security And Medicare

    The exact mechanisms for enacting the provisions therein — such as requiring manufacturers to reveal their development costs — remain unclear. The industry has previously protected development data as a trade secret. The bills would also require "reasonable pricing clauses" be included in agreements between drug companies and agencies funding their work. They propose waiving exclusive licenses for COVID-19 drugs, allowing competitors to sell the same products as long as they pay the patent holder royalties. .During the most recent years for which data are available (2000-2004), the total number of mismatched wage reports jumped from 217 million at the end of 1999 to 264 million by 2004, an average of more than 9.3 million per year—82% higher than during the 1990's and more than double the rate of the 1980's. .Specialty-tier drugs are defined by Medicare, as those that cost more than 0 per month in 2019, and include drugs used to treat cancer, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis (MS), and rheumatoid arthritis. Even when Part D enrollees reach the Medicare Part D catastrophic coverage phase, when co-insurance drops to 5%, beneficiaries who take these drugs can continue to face thousands of dollars in annual out-of-pocket costs, according to the Kaiser study. The study found that annual out-of-pocket costs for specialty drugs in 2019 are expected to average ,994 across the 28 specialty-tier drugs that are covered by drug plans. … Continued

Taxpayers who receive pension payments. .The main bill in the Senate regarding prescription drug prices is one that is authored by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). After Trump issued his executive orders, Sen. Grassley said he plans to use the time until the executive orders go into effect to build support for his own prescription drug package which, as we said above, has stalled in the Senate. .This study looks at 39 expenditures that are typical for people age 65 and up, comparing the growth in the prices of these goods and services to the growth in the annual COLAs. It includes cost increases in Medicare premiums and out of pocket costs that aren't tracked under the index currently used to calculate the COLA. .Because of that, it now appears both the House and Senate will pass the NDAA and attempt to override the President's veto if he keeps his threat. .But changes to illegal immigration enforcement can have long-term financial implications for federal benefit programs, including Social Security and Medicare. With work-authorization and valid Social Security numbers, even noncitizens can potentially become entitled to Social Security benefits with enough years of earnings or a change of legal status. At issue is whether work prior to obtaining legal status and valid Social Security numbers would count toward entitlement to Social Security and Medicare benefits — under current law it does. .Give family recipe or ethnic specialty cooking lessons. As a child I learned how to make Pennsylvania German egg noodles from scratch from my grandmother. These were a highly treasured holiday gifts. My arms still ache remembering how long I had to roll the dough to get those noodles thin enough for my grandmother! Give out an invitation to special grandchildren or friends for lessons in making favorite traditional foods from scratch. .Mary: Who tends to use anchors to influence our decisions, and when should we be wary? .TSCL has serious concerns about several of the provisions in the AHCA, including the tax cut that would endanger the Medicare program. As discussions continue to advance the bill, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) will continue to monitor them, and we will advocate on Capitol Hill for policies that would protect the Medicare Trust Fund while reducing out-of-pocket costs for older Americans. For progress updates, follow TSCL on Facebook or Twitter. .TSCL has long supported adding vision, dental and hearing benefits to Medicare, as well as supporting legislation to lower prescription drug prices. We are waiting to see what the final bills look like that come out of the House and Senate before we determine what kind of endorsement to give.