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  • Majority Of Retirees Say Cola Should Be Top Priority For Congress 2

    Obama's new policy for illegal immigrants was recently announced and implemented without Congressional approval. Now questions are growing about the potential for widespread fraud — and with good reason, it seems. Less than two months after the government announced some 800,000 illegal immigrants would qualify for work authorization under the program, immigration policy analysts now say that more than twice that number, nearly 1.8 million, will qualify. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security appears to be accepting a surprisingly wide variety of evidence and supporting documents from applicants, hoping to prove that they qualify to stay in the U.S. and for temporary work authorization. .Unlike income tax brackets that are adjusted for inflation, the income thresholds that subject Social Security benefits to taxation have never been adjusted since Social Security benefits became taxable in 198When the law was first passed, less than 10 percent of all Social Security recipients were estimated to have incomes high enough to be affected by the tax on benefits. But today, even retirees with very modest incomes can be affected by the tax. .TSCL is hopeful that the bill will fail to win passage in the House since it would negatively impact older Americans if adopted. The AHCA would restructure the Medicaid program, which helps fund health care for 11 million – or around 1 in 5 – Medicare beneficiaries. It would also base premium subsidies on age instead of income, and allow private health insurers to charge older Americans more than they charge younger folks for their coverage. In addition, it would deplete Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund by eliminating a key revenue source, and the program would face an immediate funding crisis. … Continued

  • Social Security Dec

    This week, Members of Congress returned to Capitol Hill from the month-long summer recess to begin working on legislation that would avert a government shutdown on October 1st – the start of the 2014 fiscal year. Lawmakers have agreed that they would like to pass a stopgap bill to extend funding for federal programs through December 15th. They feel that a temporary measure will grant them the time needed to work out a more substantial fiscal package before the end of this year. .Incredibly, to count as poor under the official poverty measure, your income must fall below a threshold, which is based on subsistence level food costs in 195When adopted in 1963, the poverty threshold was defined as three times the "subsistence food budget" for a family of a given size. Unlike other government measures, like the consumer price index, which undergoes continual changes to methodology, the official poverty measure has never changed, other than annual adjustments for inflation. .The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a federal program that can help eligible households with their heating and cooling costs. The program varies by state and, depending on where you live, can help with such things as: … Continued

Find out which drug store has the lowest cost-sharing before you fill. Your cost sharing can be dramatically higher depending on where and how you fill your prescription (retail versus mail order). Make sure you are using a preferred vs. standard network pharmacy and compare the prices of retail pharmacies with getting a 90-day supply from your drug plan's mail order pharmacy. For example, if you are enrolled in the Wellcare Wellness Rx plan and get your Eliquis from a standard in-network pharmacy, your copay for Eliquis after the 5 deductible would be during the initial coverage phase, and 7.38 in the Part D coverage gap. However, if you get your Eliquis from a preferred in-network pharmacy the co-pay is .00 during the initial coverage phase and 3.36 in the coverage gap. Depending on where you live, and your drug plan's mail order pharmacy, sometimes you may save a little more using mail order. .Sources: Testimony: The Social Security Disability Insurance Program, Joyce Manchester, The Congressional Budget Office, March 14, 201"Challenges Facing The Next Commissioner Of Social Security," SSA Office of Inspector General, April 26, 2012013 Social Security Trustees Report, May 31, 2013. .TSCL Supports Bill To Kill The Medicare Cutting Board .As part of our continuing efforts to find ways to lower the costs of prescription drugs, TSCL supports the idea that people should ask their doctors if taking a generic is available and appropriate for their specific ailment. .In his opening statement, Dr. Conway said, "This proposal is part of the Administration's broader strategy to encourage better care, smarter spending, and healthier people by paying for what works, unlocking health care data, and finding new ways to coordinate and integrate care to improve quality." .If your husband's company had 20 or more employees, and your husband's former employer still has the same health coverage, you and your husband may have the option to temporarily continue to get healthcare coverage under your husband's former employer plan as provided by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). That coverage now, however, is likely to be more expensive than it was while your husband was an active employee, and it's only a short-term option. These are two reasons why both you and your spouse should explore other options promptly. . You are fortunate to already be in a Medicare drug plan that covers Lantus because not all Part D plans do. If your drug plan had been one of the several Medicare Part D plans that doesn't cover Lantus, this drug could cost as much as 0 per 100/ml vial. Many diabetics need about 3 vials per month to control their blood sugar, which would cost more than ,000 over a 12-month period. But since you are in a plan that covers Lantus and presumably the other drugs that you take, here's what to expect when you exhaust 2019's Part D initial coverage limit of ,820 in total drug costs, which includes what both you and your drug plan pays. .The cost of veterinarian services is growing nearly three times faster than Social Security benefits. While retirees are making do with a 1.6% COLA in 2020, veterinarian services increased 4.7% from January 2019 to January 2020. Over the same period, costs for physicians of human patients rose just 0.7%. .Yet since 2010, when the Social Security Trust Fund first started running a cash deficit, budget negotiators have repeatedly attempted to enact Social Security reforms that would decrease benefits. One of the most widely - discussed proposals would switch to a more slowly - growing inflation measure — the chained consumer price index (CPI) — to calculate the annual cost – of – living adjustment as a means of slowing the growth of Social Security benefits and other inflation - adjusted federal programs. Although the proposal was not adopted in the past, primarily due to fear of public backlash, "It remains a key feature in many plans for reducing the deficit," Johnson says.