News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending February 6 2015

    On Thursday – one day later than promised – lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee released the text of legislation that will comprehensively reform the tax code if signed into law. Despite the delay, leaders in the House expressed their commitment to passing the legislation before the Thanksgiving recess begins on November 17th. Just eight legislative days remain before then. .Over five million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer's disease, and each year thousands more are diagnosed with this painful, heart-rending illness. Most of us know someone—a family member, coworker or friend—suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia. With the number of Alzheimer's patients expected to skyrocket in the coming decades, we must continue to press forward, offering support for family members and caregivers, while developing better and more effective treatment options as we work toward a cure for this terrible disease. .Here's how we got here: The hold harmless provision was triggered nationally in 2016 when the Social Security Administration announced that there would be no COLA payable, due to a drop in inflation. Barbara's Medicare Part B premium stayed the same as it was the year before, at 4.90, even though Medicare Part B premiums in 2016 jumped to 1.80 for about 30% of beneficiaries, such as new enrollees who were not protected by the hold harmless provision. … Continued

  • Category Legislative News Page 12

    Officials in Canada said at that time that this would not be an effective approach to reducing drug prices in the U.S. since the Canadian market is small, representing only 2% of global pharmaceutical sales, compared to 44% south of the border. .Now there are ads in various parts of the country being run by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, accusing House Republicans of doing the bidding of drug industry donors by opposing the bill. Unremarked upon are the House Democrats who've also received money from the industry — and whose opposition is seen as potentially fatal to the legislation. .Be suspicious of products that claim to treat a wide range of diseases. … Continued

Finally, in May, TSCL hosted a "Welcome Reception" on Capitol Hill for all Members of the 113th Congress and their aides. The event offered TSCL's Board of Trustees, legislative team, and staff the opportunity to speak with lawmakers about the issues that matter most to seniors. In total, more than 125 Members of Congress and/or staff were in attendance, and many of them expressed their support for key bills, making the event a great success. .The government negotiates prescription drug prices for veterans and Medicaid beneficiaries, but it is barred from negotiating lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. As a result, seniors enrolled in Part D often pay much higher prices than other Americans for their prescription drugs. What are you doing to correct this unfair policy? .Congress should change the law to apply the Social Security payroll tax to all earnings, instead of the first 2,800 of earnings, to strengthen program funding. — 72 percent support, 19 percent opposed, and 9 percent favored other types of revenue increases. .The Senior Citizens League enthusiastically supports the four bills mentioned above, and we were pleased to see support grow for them this week. For more information about these and other bills that have been backed by The Senior Citizens League, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. .Medicaid is the largest payer of long-term support services such as home care for the elderly, but states are not required to participate in the home and community-based program. .At a recent hearing from the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, experts in the MA field warned that their plans will not be able to absorb the looming cuts, and they will likely have to trim benefits or increase out-of-pocket costs as they are phased in over the next decade. One witness, Chris Wing – the CEO of SCAN Health Plans – said his MA plan that covers nearly 200,000 seniors in California and Arizona will have to begin limiting provider networks or withdraw from a few markets altogether. .Four Bills Gain Support .However, according to a 2015 report, older Americans lose approximately .5 billion each year to financial scams and abuse, and these numbers are increasing as technology makes it easier for scammers to target older Americans. A 2016 survey from the Investor Protection Trust found that almost 1-in-5 seniors, approximately 7 million Americans, have reported being victims of exploitation. .Many observers believe the plan will likely include a combination of tax increases and benefit cuts for Social Security. Some of the most commonly mentioned proposals are: (1) switching to the chained Consumer Price Index (CPI) to calculate Social Security COLAs; (2) lifting or raising the cap on income which is subject to Social Security taxes; and (3) raising the Social Security retirement age. Switching to the chained CPI alone would both reduce initial benefits and cut lifetime Social Security benefits by more than 10%.