News

  • Q October 2018

    This is good news. While we have disagreements with some doctors over things like surprise medical billings, this year has taught us how critical and valuable to us all are our medical personnel. This certainly was no time to try to balance the budget on the backs of those who have borne the weight of so many of us this year. .It's smart to compare your health insurance options. Your Initial Enrollment period for Medicare begins three months before you attain age 65, the month you turn 65, and ends three months after you attain 6If you decide in favor of starting Medicare as soon as you are eligible, then you would want to shop and compare coverage costs now. .The costs shown in the chart below assumed plan coverage started on September 1, 2017 for a new enrollee. The Medicare Drug Plan Finder cost estimates include premiums, and out-of-pocket cost sharing for 201Costs shown are estimates and the actual costs may vary somewhat depending on pharmacy used. The prices illustrated in the chart are likely to change for 2018. … Continued

  • Legislative Update Week Ending November 4 2016

    Deferred Action allows immigrants under the age of 33, who entered the country illegally as children, to request consideration of deferred action on deportation. In addition, the program provides temporary work authorization, and valid Social Security numbers. The work permits are good for two years and the Obama Administration recently announced they are taking applications for renewal. .The Grassley-Wyden package would create a rebate system in Medicare Part B and Part D beginning in 2022 for brand-name drugs and biological products with prices that increase faster than inflation. Conservative groups and some Senate Republicans have opposed the rebate system for Part D, the prescription drug benefit program, but not for Part B, the outpatient services program. .Even though I have good insurance, I wound up with ,260 in unexpected out-of-pocket costs after being referred to a specialist who ordered "a few tests." I later learned that most, if not all of the tests I was given were probably unnecessary, and not recommended by the physician groups, based on my medical history. The visit with my specialist lasted only 15 minutes. At check out I learned the doctor had ordered four high-tech tests including a CT scan. No explanation was given about what the doctor was looking for, why the tests were necessary, or how they would help, nor was I given the opportunity to go back and ask the doctor before leaving. Nothing abnormal was found in any one of them. While I'm grateful for that, the stack of bills I received later forced me to tap savings that I was hoping to count on for retirement. … Continued

In fact, generic medicines represent around 90 percent of all prescriptions dispensed in the U.S., and we depend on China for 80 percent of the core components to make our generic medicines. .But if your mom has lived with you some months already, you will need to determine if her former Medicare Advantage plan has already learned from CMS or the Postal Service of the move. If she moved over six months ago, then the plan should disenroll your mom 12 months after the move, but her Special Enrollment Period begins at the beginning of the sixth month and continues through the end of the eighth month after your move. .The study found that people who are retiring now, or who are approaching retirement, are facing a significant loss in lifetime Social Security benefits. Although the amounts vary by earnings, and years worked, in some cases today's average-earning retirees could stand to lose nearly ,000 over a 20-year retirement. .To the contrary, the majority of you who have taken our Senior Cost Survey in June and July — 56% — think we need to invest more in Medicare so that we can respond rapidly and more effectively to the next health crisis. COVID-19 affects us all, and is expected to continue to be a threat for months to come. TSCL believes that investing more in Medicare now pays off in protecting the health, and future, of all its beneficiaries. .So far, many accomplishments have made the first session of the 113th Congress a memorable one for TSCL. To read more about our latest efforts, check out our Legislative Updates. .First, the bipartisan Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2017 (H.R. 807) gained four new cosponsors in ​Representative Mike Capuano (MA-7), Representative Tom Rooney (FL- 17), Representative Linda Sanchez (CA-38), and Representative John Curtis (UT-3). The cosponsor total is now up to 23If signed into law, H.R. 807 would repeal the Medicare outpatient therapy cap that currently limits coverage for rehabilitation services at ,940. .Third, one new cosponsor, Representative Jamie Raskin (MD-8), signed on to the bipartisan Fair COLA for Seniors Act (H.R. 1553), bringing the total up to twenty-seven. If adopted, this bill would better protect the purchasing power of Social Security benefits by adopting a more adequate Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Under current law, COLAs underestimate the inflation seniors experience because they are based on the way young, working Americans spend their money. As a result, Social Security benefits have lost 33 percent of their purchasing power since 2000 according to our research. .A new online survey by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) finds that older Americans overwhelmingly want Congress to take action to lower the cost of prescription drugs by reducing Medicare Part D's out-of-pocket spending requirements. Fifty-six percent of participants in the survey indicate that they spend more than 2 a year on prescription drugs. About one-out-of-five retirees spends more than 0 per month on prescription medications. .To learn more and to participate in TSCL surveys and polls, visit .