

News
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Legislative Update Week Ending January 6 2017
The second issue is the COLA – specifically next year's COLA. .Are there any plans without an annual maximum? These plans fall into two main types, dental health maintenance organizations (DHMO), and discount dental plans. A DHMO will require you to use in network dentists, and to get referrals from your dentist when you need a specialist. You pay nothing extra when you receive preventive services that are covered by your plan premium. There are also discount dental plans that negotiate discounted rates with a network of dentists. Patients get discounts at dentist's office, but pay their dentists directly at the time of service. There is no waiting period for this type of plan. .The proposal is not new. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan supported a similar proposal in the late 1990s. In fact, it's one of a series of technical changes to the CPI recommended by the Boskin Commission in 1996 — which said that the CPI overstates inflation and that the COLA overpays seniors by about 1.1%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics busily instituted a number of those changes from 1995 through 2000 that, by my estimates, have already cut the rate of growth in the CPI and average Social Security benefits, compared to previous CPI measurement methodology by about 5 annually over the past ten years. If Congress were to adopt the chained CPI to calculate COLA starting with the COLA payable in 2012, that would additionally cut the growth in average benefits by about ,429 over the next ten years. … Continued
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Q Februarymarch 2017
The following Members of Congress, among others, will hold town hall meetings this week: Sen. Joni Ernst (IA), Sen. Jerry Moran (KS), Sen. Bill Cassidy (LA), Sen. Charles Grassley (IA), Sen. Angus King (ME), Rep. Joe Barton (TX-6), Rep. Joyce Beatty (OH-3), Rep. Brett Guthrie (KY-2), Rep. Doug Lamborn (CO-5), Rep. Michael McCaul (TX-10), Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15), Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8), Rep. Brad Sherman (CA-30), Rep. Justin Amash (MI-3), Rep. Bradley Byrne (AL-1), Rep. Danny Davis (IL-7), Rep. Patrick McHenry (NC-10), Rep. Robert Scott (VA-3), Rep. Sanford Bishop (GA-2), and Rep. Dave Brat (VA-7). .What if I make a donation and then become dissatisfied with TSCL? .Sources: "How Much ‘Skin In The Game' Is Enough?", Kaiser Family Foundations, June 201"Measuring Price Change For Medical Care In The CPI," Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed March 3, 2012. … Continued
On Thursday – one day later than promised – lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee released the text of legislation that will comprehensively reform the tax code if signed into law. Despite the delay, leaders in the House expressed their commitment to passing the legislation before the Thanksgiving recess begins on November 17th. Just eight legislative days remain before then. .Graves can't understand why the pricing is going unchecked by the federal government. "This needs to be investigated," she says. "People who don't have good Part D coverage or the money to pay for their drugs would be forced to go without," she protests. "It's GREED, GREED, GREED!" .Women who earn less are particularly disadvantaged because females tend to live longer compared to men but have to live on less in benefits. The Social Security Administration website tells us that the typical woman receives ,218 each month while the typical man receives ,534 per month — meaning that, on average, men receive 25% more in Social Security benefits. This means that women have much less money to cover their expenses over a longer period. .It remains my goal in the 110th Congress to ensure that our Social Security system remains solvent and available to those who have spent a lifetime legally accruing benefits. I will continue to oppose international agreements that risk costing America's seniors their retirement security. In addition, I will continue to advocate an enforcement-first approach to immigration policy. Only when we have the mechanisms in place to effectively stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. can we begin to address the strain they place on our financial resources, including the Social Security system. .Analysts say that deeper Medicare cuts may be back on the table by the end of the year. One of the most controversial proposals would convert Medicare into a system called "premium support." Under the proposal, the government would allocate a fixed amount of money for Medicare beneficiaries' premiums; and people would then purchase coverage from private health plans that would provide all their care. ., editor, and Terry Newell, President, Leadership for a Responsible Society .Alexandria, VMore than 62.5 million seniors, as well as recipients of other federal benefits, may be at high risk of not receiving any cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) next year, according to a new forecast from The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonpartisan seniors organization. Based on the government's most recent inflation data over the past 12 months, growth in the consumer price index is so low that, should the trend continue through the third quarter of the year, inflation would be about 2% lower than the same period last year. "That would mean no COLA would be payable in 2015," says TSCL Chairman, Ed Cates. "Although a lot can happen between now and then," Cates notes, "TSCL anticipates that the buying power of benefits will be impacted." .The provision only protects an estimated 70 percent of beneficiaries (almost 43 million beneficiaries) from increases in the Medicare Part B premium that exceed the dollar amount of their COLA. When an individual's Part B premium increases more than the dollar amount of their COLA, the Part B premium is reduced to prevent a reduction in net Social Security benefits from one year to the next. .What is TSCL?