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  • Congress Still Cant Get Its Work Done

    "The Congressional Budget Office said in 2019 that the bill would likely hamper some pharmaceutical development due to lower ‘potential global revenues' but predicted that ‘the effects of the new drug introductions from increased federal spending under the bill on biomedical research would be modest and would almost all occur more than 20 years in the future.' On the other hand, it estimated that the bill would save more than 0 billion in drug spending over the next decade." .This week, Members of Congress returned to Washington to begin working on a temporary measure that would avert a government shutdown on October 1st. In addition, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) announced its support for one new piece of legislation, and three key bills gained cosponsors. .These fraudulent products that claim to cure, treat, or prevent COVID-19 haven't been evaluated by the FDA for safety and effectiveness and might be dangerous to you and your family. … Continued

  • Category Issues Medicare Part B Page 4

    Social Security Reform – Work for solutions that extend the Trust Fund's solvency and strengthen the program without enacting harmful cuts. .TSCL is carefully monitoring these recommendations and believes they would be financially punitive to seniors who are depending on Medigap supplements to provide a more secure retirement. .Unreported deaths undoubtedly rank as the Social Security Administration's number one "Most Gruesome Fraud Management Failures." Hardly a month goes by without the discovery of a grizzly new case. Usually some elderly person is found long-dead of natural causes in their own home or that of a close relative — frequently years after death. The death was never reported. Remains have been discovered tucked into beds, placed in freezers, and even sitting on toilets. Meanwhile loving sons or daughters continued to collect the deceased's Social Security checks — sometimes for decades. One Brooklyn man is serving up to 41 years for impersonating his dead mom. He donned a wig and wore her dresses to collect 5,000 in her Social Security payments and rent subsidies. … Continued

Ask the Advisor: August 2021 Why Can't Legal Guardians Receive Social Security Benefits on Behalf of Grandchild? .Finally, six new cosponsors signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (S. 896 and H.R. 1795) this week, bringing the total up to ten in the Senate and eighty-three in the House. The cosponsors are: Sen. Brian Schatz (HI), and Reps. Adam Kinzinger (IL-16), John Duncan, Jr. (TN-2), Raul Ruiz (CA-36), Bill Foster (IL-11), and Randy Neugebauer (TX-19). If signed into law, the bill would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – two provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of state and local government employees each year. .Of particular importance is the portion of income that seniors and the disabled must spend on each particular category. Under the CPI-W, out-of-pocket medical costs are weighted or assumed to account for only 5.6% of total expenditures. National surveys indicate that Medicare beneficiaries spend far more. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that median out-of-pocket health care spending as a share of income for Medicare beneficiaries was about 16.2% by 2006. .Call your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) and ask for free counseling from a Medicare counselor. You can find local contact info here: https://www.shiptacenter.org. Many of these programs operate through local agencies on aging or senior services departments. Counselors can help you over the phone from home. .TSCL would like to thank Reps. Mike McIntyre (NC-7), G.K. Butterfield (NC-1), and Charles Gonzalez (TX-20) for taking the time to discuss the issues that are most important to our members and supporters. TSCL also met with Jeremy House, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Butterfield, Conrad Risher, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Gonzalez, Tommy Walker, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-1), Rebecca Shaw, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Chris Gibson (NY-20), and Nathaniel Ferguson, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Scott Rigell (VA-2). .TSCL is concerned that illegal immigrants who gain temporary work permits and Social Security numbers would become permanently eligible for Social Security and Medicare among other federal benefits. Here are several areas of concern: .League believes that tax reform is an opportunity to bring greater equity to the funding going into Social Security and to ensure that everyone pays fairly. .Is Life Insurance After Starting Social Security Worth the Money? .The DOJ in late March arrested a man in Southern California who allegedly orchestrated an investment scheme involving a bogus injectable cure for Covid-1A week later, the DOJ filed charges against a man whose treatment allegedly involved a combination of Vitamin C, bee pollen, hydrogen peroxide, and prayer.