News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending December 9 2016

    Seniors are often targeted for their money or identity, commonly with fraudsters asking seniors to send a payment through gift cards, by wire transfer, credit card, or other predatory schemes. Retailers, financial services providers, and wire transfer companies have undertaken efforts to do their part to stop their customers, including seniors, from being scammed. .New Co-Sponsors Added .The gap between prices was even higher for brand-name drugs, with U.S. prices 3.44 times more than those in the other countries. Meanwhile, prices for generic drugs are slightly lower in the U.S. than in most other countries. Unbranded generic drugs account for 84% of drugs sold in the U.S. by volume, the researchers found, but only 12% of U.S. spending. … Continued

  • Congress Still Trying To Find A Way To Pass Health Care Legislation

    One can't write about Medicare as I do without learning that Medicare has requirements for everything. Lots of requirements.. Medicare Starts Mailing New Cards In April — Beware Of Scams! Start watching the mail for your new Medicare card. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services will start mailing the cards this month and plans to replace all existing Medicare cards over the next year — by April of 2019. .Prescription Drug Re-Importation – Making safe, secure re-importation a reality. .Traveling Is Still a Danger … Continued

Although law forbids work without authorization, immigrants use invalid SSNs to get jobs. When employers provide W2s in which the name and SSN do not match those in the SSA's records, the wage report is held in the Earnings Suspense File (ESF) until the discrepancy can be corrected, according to the Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General. This can occur even years later when a claim is filed for benefits. .For many, the COLA increase won't be high enough. Those people will once again be held harmless another year. Their Medicare premium increase will be adjusted so that their Social Security benefits won't be reduced, but it may be another year, or even longer, before they see any increase in their net Social Security benefit. .There are two points to remember about the first rule: Medicare has always been barred from negotiating prices directly with drug companies; and other countries regulate their health care spending more heavily, including for prescription drugs. .Use BenefitsCheckup.org to screen for programs in your area. If you don't have a computer, ask a friend or family member to help you do an online Benefits Checkup. The service asks you a series of questions about where you live, your income, and a number of other qualifications, and matches you up with programs that can provide help with medications among a menu of other valuable benefits. .At any rate, what this means is the legislation that TSCL is fighting to pass which would safeguard and improve Social Security and Medicare still has the possibility of passing this year. Most of those bills will involve new spending, which means they will need to be included in new funding legislation. .Is The IRS Paying Illegals Billions In Child Tax Credits? .Leading GOP plans impose broad spending reductions, would overhaul Medicare and cut Medicaid, while President Obama and Democrats are insisting tax increases are required, particularly on people with higher incomes over 0,000. Respondents to TSCL's Seniors Survey also tended to be more divided when asked whether they "strongly agreed" that the budget deficit should be reduced by cutting discretionary spending, or by closing tax loop holes and small revenue increases. However, when those in the middle, who "agree somewhat," are counted, a majority, 74%, agree that the budget deficit should be reduced by a fair balance of both discretionary spending cuts and modest revenue increases. .Albert Bourla told Bloomberg Television in an interview that he believes there is a great opportunity for Biden to take the initiative to "reduce significantly the cost of medicines for the patients, which is the thing that is now problematic." .I know from meeting with friends and neighbors across my district that Americans are ready for the truth. They are ready for solutions. And they are ready for leadership. We must not be afraid to speak – and act – boldly on their behalf.