News

  • Supreme Court Decision On Immigration May Have Big Implications For Social Security Medicare

    This week, one new cosponsor – Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11) – signed on to the Social Security 2100 Act (H.R. 1902), bringing the total up to 16The bill, which was introduced just a couple of months ago, has more support in Congress than any other comprehensive Social Security reform bill to date. .The study examined the increase in costs of 32 key items between 2000 and January 201The items were chosen because they are typical of the costs seniors must bear. Of the 32 costs analyzed, 20 exceeded the total percentage of increase in the COLA over the same period. .Prevention of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse – Eliminating inefficiencies within Social Security and Medicare. … Continued

  • Q A Medicare

    This week, TSCL's Board of Trustees traveled to Washington, D.C. for its first meeting of 201The Board of Trustees includes the following members: Edward Cates, Chairman; Charlie Flowers, Vice-Chairman; Arthur Cooper, Secretary; Deborah Oelschig, Treasurer; Michael Gales, PAC Treasurer; and Larry Hyland, Liaison and President of TREThe Enlisted Association. .In the months ahead, The Senior Citizens League will continue to work for enactment of this and other legislation that would strengthen and enhance Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiaries. For progress updates, follow The Senior Citizens League on Twitter and Facebook. .(Washington, DC) – The upcoming Supreme Court Case on immigration could have significant consequences for Social Security and Medicare, says a report , released today by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments April 18th on President Obama's executive action on immigration. The president's immigration policy changes would allow an estimated 5 million undocumented immigrants, including parents of U.S. citizens or lawful residents, to obtain temporary deferral of deportation, work authorization and potential access to Social Security and Medicare benefits. … Continued

TSCL enthusiastically supports the bills mentioned above, and we look forward to helping build support for them in the coming months. .TSCL would like to thank Reps. Larry Bucshon (IN-8), Richard Hanna (NY-24), Mike Conaway (TX-11), Rodney Alexander (LA-5), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-2), Gregory Meeks (NY-6), and Christopher Smith (NJ-4) for taking the time to meet and discuss important issues for seniors. TSCL also met with top staffers in the following offices: Reps. Grace Napolitano (CA-39), Randy Hultgren (IL-14), Roscoe Bartlett (MD-6), Steve Southerland (FL-2), Dennis Kucinich (OH-10), and Peter Visclosky (IL-1). .According to an analysis by Johnson, the impact of switching to the more slowly - growing "chained" CPI would compound over time, with the deepest cuts accruing after people had spent 25 or 30 years in retirement. After 25 years, benefits would be cut by about 4.6 percent, and by 5.5 percent after 30 years. For someone with average benefits of ,245 in 2017, benefits would be 0 per month lower from using the chained CPI after 25 years, and 6 per month lower after 30 years, the analysis found. .In April, lawmakers on the Republican Study Committee proposed a budget blueprint that would have reformed the Medicare program and cut Social Security benefits by adopting the "chained" CPI, eliminating the COLA for some seniors, and raising the eligibility age. Did you support this budget blueprint, and if so, why? .Last week we told you that unless Congress passed new legislation soon, there would be significant cuts in Medicare payments to health care providers, such as doctors and hospitals. And if that happened it is quite possible those patients covered by Medicare would likely face negative consequences with regard to their health care. .Comprehensive Social Security Reform .Because of the collapse in the real estate market, experts say that thousands of seniors who need assisted living or nursing home care are remaining in their homes longer because they can't sell or get the price they need to cover their long term care. According to Harris Meyer, in an article for Kaiser Health News, the situation is leaving families under pressure to either pay for their parents' placement with their own money, or to provide care themselves. .We are no longer physically able to work, so we're concerned that current Social Security and Medicare benefits and future COLAs will be cut via D.C. shenanigans and slight-of-hand legislation, thus making our financial situation worse. .The extra time was needed because although both houses of Congress were finally able to pass the needed legislation, the bill was nearly 5,600 pages in length. It is probable that no member of Congress actually read the entire bill and likely very few Congressional staff members read it either.