News

  • Social Security Medicare Questions August 2012

    TSCL's members and supporters are sending in thousands of petition signatures to fight the cuts that threaten senior benefits. Senior voter outcry, especially in an election year, is a highly effective means to make lawmakers wary of making major changes. .I would like to know how, at this point, you project a Social Security COLA at 6.1%. Inflation would have to continue on an upward path through September for that to happen. — R.Q., NJ .Early this week, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Social Security Administration released a 10-year study that found nearly billion in overpayments to around 4 million enrollees in the Disability Insurance program. Approximately 45 percent of all disabled beneficiaries have been overpaid in the past decade, the report's authors concluded. … Continued

  • Benefit Bulletin September 2019

    Enrollees in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans should take a careful look at changes in their health plan for 201These Medicare health plans have new leeway to offer new supplemental benefits. While some of the new benefits may be valuable to some families, other changes, which give plans greater leeway to "tier" the co-pay structure for healthcare providers, may mean higher out-of-pocket costs when non-preferred or out-of-network providers are used. .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. .During the pandemic, non-emergency elective hospital procedures were temporarily stopped to lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission, to preserve scarce personal protective equipment and to keep hospital beds available for COVID care. According to JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, hospitals across the country have taken a major hit to their normal operating income. The American Hospital Association recently reported the average loss of revenues to U.S. hospitals of .7 billion per month from March 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020. We don't yet know how much more hospitals have lost through the end of 2020. … Continued

What are the potential complications and risks? .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. .However, an estimated 15 million Medicare beneficiaries – including new enrollees, those who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, high-income beneficiaries, and beneficiaries who do not receive Social Security benefits – will see large premium and deductible hikes in January if Congress does not act before October 15th, less than one week from now. .The WEP affects people who worked for a state or local government employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes from salary. When you claim the pension for your work as a police officer, the WEP can reduce your Social Security benefit by as much as half of the amount of your pension. .That does raise a fair question about conflict of interest: If something was not in the best interest of seniors but would raise millions of dollars for AARP through insurance sales, would AARP put principle ahead of profit? .Survivor claims are increasing due to recent violence in Mexico. .According to the Inspector General's report, of the 6.5 million active numbers, the Social Security Administration had issued payments to 266 of the number holders, but a review found that only 13 people were likely to be still alive and collecting benefits. In addition to the problem of payments to the dead, the balance of the 6.5 million active numbers pose a risk because they could be stolen to claim fraudulent tax refunds and to work illegally. The IRS has estimated that it paid out .8 billion in fraudulent tax refunds in 2013 because of identity theft. .Before doing anything else make sure you have a realistic budget, and think long term. You want your income and savings to be adequate as long as possible, 30 years or even longer is not unrealistic for someone your age. In developing a budget, look back over at least three years to include large expenditures for periodic home maintenance and repairs, transportation, medical costs and other large costs. Include what you pay in taxes. Once you get an expense figure, allow for at least 3% per year for inflation. Then tally up your income and assets, including the value and expected income from retirement accounts and pensions, if any. .In case Congress is not able to come to an agreement concerning legislation to lower prescription drug prices, there are reports that President Trump is considering executive action to cut drug prices ahead of the 2020 election as he enters his re-election seeking to rebut Democratic criticism that his policies have hurt U.S. health care.