News

  • Our Government Thinks Your Cost Of Living Is Lower This Year Is It Really

    Officials working on the plan have not yet settled on many of its details. The Trump administration first proposed the approach in 201Three officials familiar with the matter said it remains under consideration and has not been ruled out, despite Trump's endorsement for the Grassley-Wyden bill. .I'm still working and will turn 65 in July of this year. I currently get my health insurance through my employer. We have more than 20 employees and I've been told I can keep my employer's health insurance instead of starting Medicare in July. The health insurance that I have now is pretty expensive and the deductibles are high. How can I compare the costs between the two types of insurance? .Recently one of our readers asked "Is there a percentage as to how much less NOTCH BABIES receive monthly?" Although not many studies exist, according to one study of average earners born from 1917 through 1926, the disparity in benefits with other retirees seems to average about 26%. … Continued

  • Big Effort To Lower Drug Prices Once Again In Congress

    The Senate, where Republicans hold the majority, has yet to make a decision as to whether to defer taxes for its employees. .The nation's pharmaceutical industry has pushed back against the potential order, arguing that the United States should not shut itself off from a global supply chain. .Based on the growth rate of the Consumer Price Index for Workers (CPI-W) over past 12 months, I'm projecting a COLA in the vicinity of 3.6% for 201But Congress may take action that would slow the growth of the COLA. Deficit reduction plans are likely to call for switching to the "chained" CPI, a move that TSCL feels would further undermine the purchasing power of benefits. The difference between the CPI-W and chained COLA has averaged about 0.3 percentage point since 2000, but that's not the case this year. In fact, if the switch were to affect the COLA payable in 2012, seniors would get a COLA of about 2.8% — a cut of more than 20%. … Continued

To address this issue, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (AZ), suggested that the Committee focus on waste, fraud, and abuse, since it's a topic that generally has bipartisan support. He stated, "Some people fear the solution has to be a cut in benefits. There may be very substantial savings that can be achieved through efficiencies." Most at the hearing seemed to agree with him. .As Congress returns to work, it begins another debate over the Social Security payroll tax – and with it, a debate over funding for Social Security. Many Americans are asking how an extension of the payroll tax cut would affect the finances of the Social Security Trust Fund. That's an important question. Keeping Social Security financially strong is essential for protecting current beneficiaries – and for ensuring that Social Security's guarantee will be there for our children and grandchildren as well. .This Part B premium cost - shifting includes shifting those higher costs to state Medicaid budgets that pay the Part B premiums for low-income Medicare beneficiaries — which account for about 19 percent of all Medicare recipients. If this would occur in 2021, this would add yet another fiscal shock to state budgets that are already strained beyond anticipated budgets due to the coronavirus pandemic. .But lower COLAs and changes that would increase seniors' Medicare costs still remain key targets of plans to lower federal spending. Late last year, the budget conference committee responsible for heading off another government shutdown heard deficit reduction options from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Among those having the biggest impact on reducing government spending are proposals to increase deductibles and co-insurance for Medicare — cutting federal spending about 4 billion. In addition, moving to using the more slowly-growing chained CPI to determine COLAs would cut government spending by an estimated 8.5 billion on Social Security and other federal benefit programs, like military retirement, through 2023. .Your husband would need to apply for Social Security disability benefits to learn if his medical condition meets the Social Security Administration's definition of disability. But before getting started, it's important to understand your choices, since your husband is also old enough to start Social Security retirement benefits. .The House passed the bill yesterday and the Senate is expected to take it up next week. .Food and Beverages: (breakfast cereal, milk, coffee, chicken, wine, full service meals, snacks) .The plan was blocked in lower courts after the state of Texas and 25 other states sued, saying that Obama had exceeded his authority. TSCL filed a "friend of the court" brief, in support of Texas and the other states, arguing concerns about costs to Social Security and Medicare. .This week, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) successfully hosted its first ever town hall meeting. Meanwhile, action on Capitol Hill remained slow as Members of both Houses of Congress remained in their home states and districts for the August recess.