News

  • Social Security Cola

    Improving the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). According to TSCL's research, Social Security benefits have lost over 30 percent of their buying power since 2000 due in large part to inadequate COLAs and rising health care costs. The bipartisan Fair COLA for Seniors Act (H.R. 1553) would improve the annual COLA by adopting the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), which more adequately measures the inflation seniors experience. .Premium support by itself is no shoo-in for cutting federal spending. In fact, the track record is pretty messy. The costs for Medicare Part D have been lower than originally projected. Competition between Part D drug plans seems to be working, for now, to keep costs down both for the government and for some seniors — particularly those who carefully shop and compare drug plans each year. .Since the government transitioned from paper checks to less expensive electronic payment methods, the Social Security Office of Inspector General (OIG) has been investigating unauthorized changes to direct deposits that redirect seniors' benefit payments into accounts set up by crooks. As of June 1, 2013, the OIG's office has received more 50 reports per day involving attempts to make such a change, most often involving redirecting benefits to the prepaid Direct Express debit card accounts. … Continued

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending July 25 2014

    According to The Senior Citizens League's research, Social Security benefits have lost 34 percent of their purchasing power since 2000 due in large part to inadequate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) and rising health care costs. .Because a high percentage of taxpayers were affected by under-withholdings due to the problematic tax tables, the IRS allowed a waiver of penalties for both 2009 and 2010 tax years. But taxpayers have to request the waiver of penalties in order to receive it. According to the Treasury Inspector General, last year virtually no taxpayer surveyed knew they could request a waiver. .Hearings Over Controversial Healthcare "Cutting" Board … Continued

Medicare Therapy Caps: A Long Battle for Patient Access .Alexandria, VA (October 18, 2011) Irene H., a senior living in Central Virginia, will achieve a milestone this fall that few other 86-year olds can boast of. The thrifty senior, who takes three prescription medications every day, including an expensive brand-name eye drop for glaucoma, will cut her prescription drug costs by more than ,000 since 200Her secret? Every year during the fall Medicare Open Enrollment period, Irene learns about the changes in her drug plan for the upcoming year, and then compares all her options for drug coverage. She changes plans when she finds better coverage at a better cost. .By way of a quick explanation, except for special circumstances, any legislation that goes through Congress has to start in the committee of jurisdiction, meaning the committee that deals with legislation pertaining to a specific subject. In the case of prescription drug legislation, those committees are Finance, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and Appropriations. That's one of the reasons passing this legislation is so complicated. .To date, no government agency has released any complete estimate of the potential cost of illegal earnings to the Social Security Trust Fund. The best indication of the potential cost is contained in the Social Security Administration's "earnings suspense file" (ESF). .Reducing prescription drug prices is a top issue for older voters. Seventy – two percent of survey participants support a proposal to tie Medicare Part D drugs prices to those paid in other industrialized nations, through the use of an "international drug pricing index" — an approach similar to prescription drug legislation passed by the House (H.R. 3). .Medigap plans by law are now barred from offering drug coverage, and beneficiaries need to add "drug only" coverage to their Medicare supplement. .This week, lawmakers returned to Washington and quickly began working on legislation to stave off a government shutdown, which could occur on December 11th if Congress fails to reach a compromise. In addition, The Senior Citizens League saw two key bills gain support. .The credit for qualifying children is fully refundable, which means that taxpayers can benefit from the credit even if they don't have earned income or don't owe any income taxes. .Upon introducing the bill, Rep. Negrete McLeod said: "For seniors living on a fixed income, this could greatly impact their quality of life … We must protect seniors and ensure those who are most vulnerable do not face greater economic insecurity due to rising medical expenses." By preventing the threshold hike from occurring, her bill would save the average senior nearly 0 a year in qualifying tax deductions. TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 4104, and we look forward to working with Rep. Negrete McLeod in the coming months to help build support for it. In the meantime, we encourage our members and supporters to contact their representatives to request their support for it. To find contact information for your elected officials, click HERE.