News

  • February 2013 Yahoo News

    Talk with people at your local Area Agency on Aging or local senior services organizations. Find out about the senior housing options in your area, what they cost , and whether there are any charitable senior living programs that can help people like your mother until her home sells. .Depending on health, and type of Medigap coverage, seniors would get hit with up to ,100 per year in new costs that were previously covered by their health plan. .The Senate-passed bill includes a repeal of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, which experts predict will result in a loss of health insurance coverage for 4 million individuals, many of whom are older Americans who are not yet eligible for Medicare. Those who remain insured through the individual market are expected to see premium increases of 10 percent or more – a hike that would make health insurance unaffordable for many. Most House Republicans have said they support a repeal of the mandate, and it is expected to be included in the final version of the bill. … Continued

  • Q A June 2019

    Social Security and Medicare Public Trustees Recommend Raising Eligibility Age and Benefit Formula Changes .At the hearings, many Committee Members were still getting up to speed on the structural and procedural aspects of the IPAB. The IPAB, which will be made up of 15 "experts" appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, will begin issuing recommendations to Congress in 2015 if Medicare spending exceeds the targets established by the Affordable Care Act. Those recommendations will be reviewed on a "fast-track" basis, and, if Congress fails to act quickly, HHS will be forced to implement them. .Thus beneficiaries will continue to be hit with steep costs when they fall into the coverage gap in the foreseeable future. To keep prices as low as possible in the doughnut hole, beneficiaries can look into using mail-order pharmacies, which require 90-day prescriptions and are often cheaper per dose than a 30-day supply. People with limited incomes may also qualify for Extra Help or other pharmaceutical assistance programs. TSCL also recommends that Part D beneficiaries talk to their doctors at each visit to discuss potential alternatives to their high-cost prescriptions. … Continued

Depending on health, and type of Medigap coverage, seniors would get hit with up to ,100 per year in new costs that were previously covered by their health plan. .Despite claims that the proposal would have no cost for the Social Security program, research shows that it would put a financial strain on the Social Security program. According to a report released this week by the American Action Forum, this family leave proposal would have a net cost of around 6 billion, and it would advance the insolvency of the Social Security Trust Funds by around six months. .The Senior Citizens League is pleased that leaders in Washington have temporarily reopened the federal government, and we are hopeful that they will act responsibly in the days ahead to ensure that it remains fully funded. We will continue to monitor the negotiations closely in the coming days, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website. .TSCL enthusiastically supports the Credit for Caring Act, the Social Security Fairness Act, and the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act, and we were pleased to see support grow for each one this week. To receive frequent progress updates on these and other Social Security, Medicare, and family caregiving bills, follow TSCL on Twitter. .For this reason, TSCL announced its support for the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act back in March, and our legislative team has been busy advocating for it on Capitol Hill. The bill's sponsors expect the House Ways and Means Committee to take it up before the end of the year, and they are hopeful that both chambers will pass it shortly thereafter. For updates, visit and, on our new Facebook page, at www.Facebook.com/SeniorsLeague. .This year, The Senior Citizens League has heard from supporters like never before about some extreme costs of prescription drugs. One supporter told us she pays ,800 for a three-month supply of insulin as a type 2 diabetic. She said: "I do not have that kind of money! My doctor has been giving me samples to keep me afloat but I cannot expect him to do that forever … I will have to sell my house to pay for insulin." .Not only does this put unwitting retirees' Medicare number in the hands of crooks who can then resell it to be used to file more false claims, but it can cause Medicare to deny future coverage for genetic testing when it's really needed, because the patient's record will show the test has already been performed. .The average CEO in the sample would pay enough Social Security revenues to cover the entire benefit of 45 retirees with an average benefit of ,800 for a year, or, boost the COLA of 22,428 retirees with average benefits in the first year. .Five years after IPAB's creation, it still has no appointed members and, due to record-low growth in healthcare costs, it hasn't been triggered to make recommendations to Congress yet. Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, says she doesn't expect it to be triggered until 201But hundreds of lawmakers have serious concerns about the prospect of the board since it would be comprised of unelected and unaccountable appointees. They are hoping to pass legislation that would do away with it by the end of this year.