News

  • New Bills Regarding Medicare Social Security Benefits Introduced In Congress

    TSCL strongly supports legislation that would provide a minimum COLA in years when inflation is below average — such as the Guaranteed 3% COLA Act (H.R. 991) sponsored by Representative Eliot Engel (NY-16). How are low COLAs and higher costs affecting you? Let your Members of Congress know! Call 1-844-455-0045. .The vast majority of illegal immigrants come to this country for jobs. To obtain one, they need documentation to show an employer. There's a huge underground business in the manufacture and distribution of phony or even stolen Social Security numbers (SSNs). According to media reports, counterfeit SSNs and papers can be purchased on the streets for under ,000. .Third, the bipartisan CHANGE Act (H.R. 4957) gained one new cosponsor in Representative Ted Lieu (CA-33), bringing the total up to twenty-two. If adopted, the CHANGE Act would promote early identification of Alzheimer's disease, improve support for family caregivers, and provide continuous care for those battling many forms of dementia. … Continued

  • Best Ways Save July 2015

    We understand that our proposal may not be the most perfect solution to the injustice; however, it stands a much better chance of getting passed in Congress and is the best possible solution we know of. .Gather your medical expense records from the past year to three years, if you have them. Organization of these records not only helps you figure out your household budget, but keeping it all in one place helps you compile the amount to claim as medical expenses at tax time. Since expenses vary so much with your health, going back three years can help you get a better idea of average annual cost. .At Wednesday's hearing, members of the committee heard from Jonathan Blum, the Deputy Administrator and Director of Medicare at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Blum stressed the need for Congress to act before January 1st, since the cost of repealing the SGR is the lowest it has been in years. He also asked members of the committee to build upon the work that CMS has already done instead of starting from scratch. "We shouldn't step back, we should step forward," he said. In addition, he urged committee members to advance a plan that would create a five-year transition period and allow CMS to continue experimenting with different payment models, like accountable care organizations and medical homes. … Continued

Last week White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows announced that President Trump would soon be signing three executive orders regarding prescription drug prices. While he did not provide any further information the Washington Post published an article about what one of the orders is likely to be. .TSCL was pleased to see support grow for H.R. 1902, H.R. 2575, and H.R. 4841 this week, and we will continue to advocate for them tirelessly in the months ahead. For more information, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. For updates on the progress of these and other bills, follow The Senior Citizens League on Twitter. .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. .Watch our newest video featuring TSCL's Board of Trustees as they work for our benefits in our nation's Capitol. .Medicare has three Parts: A (hospital), B (doctors and hospital outpatient) and D (prescription drugs). Each has a deductible and each increases every year. In 2007 the Medicare deductibles (annually) are: .Ask your doctor if you have alternate insulin options to control your blood glucose levels. Novolin may be one of them, and it may be less expensive, but it acts differently than Lantus. Ask your doctor if there are any dietitians working with the clinic who can help you reduce your reliance on Lantus and thus the quantity you need to use. Perhaps you can take a combination of Novolin and Lantus. .If you have not filed a return for 2020, the IRS urges people with children to file one as soon as possible. Even if your grandson was not with you in 2020, eligible taxpayers have the opportunity to update information about changes in income, filing status or the number of qualifying children. The IRS is continuing to update information about this credit which can be found at: https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021. .Members of the committee questioned several witnesses at Thursday's hearing, including Dr. Janet Woodcock (Director at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration), Nancy Retzlaff (Chief Commercial Officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals), and Martin Shkreli (founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals). .The abrupt and severe contraction in the U.S. economy caused by the coronavirus has far-reaching consequences for Social Security. Twenty million workers filed claims for unemployment between March 15, 2020 and April 17, 2020, a level that has not been seen since the Great Depression. Both the wide-scale shutdowns and layoffs, as well as provisions of the coronavirus CARES Act stimulus legislation significantly reduce the anticipated amount of payroll taxes flowing into Social Security this year.