

News
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Legislative Update April May 2021
The study, which examined price changes from January of 2019 to January of this year found that, since 2000, the buying power of Social Security benefits improved 3 percentage points— from a loss of 33 percent as of 2019 to 30 percent in 2020. Between January of 2000 and January of 2020, Social Security COLAs increased Social Security benefits by 53 percent, but the costs of goods and services purchased by typical retirees rose almost twice as much — 99.3 percent. Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket costs, housing, and homeowner's insurance were among the most rapidly - rising costs over the past year. .Wall Street economists are in the midst of a growing debate over whether we are in for "the return of inflation." (Oh, go ahead and snort. I did too when I first read about this.) .America's immigration policy may make a dramatic shift in the coming months. According to press reports, the new Congressional leadership may push for an immigration plan that grants amnesty to illegal immigrants residing in the U.S., and America's senior citizens are paying close attention. … Continued
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The Senior Citizens League Weekly Update For Week Ending March 27 2020
"This year's zero COLA combined with next year's insufficient increase will have a devastating impact on the long term adequacy of Social Security benefits for millions of Americans … we hope that you will act swiftly and responsibly before the end of this year," the letter stated. .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 first is H.R. 446, the Protecting Seniors from Emergency Scams Act. … Continued
Source: "2019 Changes to Medicare Advantage and Part D," The National Council on Aging, accessed on October 4, 2018. .According to Rep. Roskam, the bill would enhance data sharing between states and agencies so that they can more easily catch scammers, and it would modernize outdated fraud prevention systems. Upon introducing the bill, Rep. Carney said, "In this Congress, it's not easy to find areas where Democrats and Republicans agree, but fighting waste, fraud, and abuse while saving billions of taxpayer dollars just makes sense." .In making the 1977 changes, Congress, wanting to avoid an abrupt change, allowed persons born from 1917 through 1921 to use a special transitional benefit formula or the new 1977 formula, whichever would yield the higher of the two benefits. The transition benefit formula never delivered the promised benefit protection, however, because it did not yield a higher benefit amount. Instead, the new benefit formula most often yielded the higher amount. .Will We Get A COLA in 2012? .Alexandria, VA - August 11, 2012 -- Low-income seniors on Medicare who also receive Medicaid services should be vigilant in checking their health plans in the coming months. This advice comes from the Senior Citizens League (TSCL), one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups. Tests are underway in up to 26 states to move as many as 3 million "dual eligibles" — people who receive both Medicare and Medicaid — into managed-care health plans. The object is to improve healthcare and lower government spending. .(Washington, DC) – Consumer price index data through August 2021 indicates that the 2022 COLA will likely be about 6 percent. But soaring inflation this year has deeply eroded the buying power of Social Security benefits, according to a new update to an ongoing inflation study by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). The study, which compares the growth in the Social Security cost of living adjustments (COLA)s with increases in the costs of goods and services typically used by retirees found that, since 2000, Social Security benefits have lost 32 percent of their buying power. .Since the November announcement from UnitedHealth, doctors have started to receive termination letters citing "significant changes and pressures in the health-care environment." Doctors who receive the notices had only thirty days to appeal the decision, and if they are dropped from the network, their patients may not find out until they go to schedule their next appointment. .TSCL opposes the payment of Social Security and Medicare benefits that are based on illegal work, and supports legislation that would ban Social Security work credits based on unauthorized earnings from being used to determine entitlement. .We do not collect any other information unless it is voluntarily provided by the visitor, such as if you answer one of our surveys, make a donation and/or register on our site to receive news and important updates on issues affecting senior citizens.