News

  • Protecting Your Health Care Decisions

    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 .Talk with people at your local Area Agency on Aging or local senior services organizations. Find out about the senior housing options in your area, what they cost , and whether there are any charitable senior living programs that can help people like your mother until her home sells. .Finally, two new cosponsors – Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11) and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-19) – signed on to the Nursing Home CARE Act (H.R. 4704), bringing the total up to twenty-four. The bill, if adopted, would protect Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries by more quickly codifying emergency preparedness rules for nursing home facilities that receive funding from the federal government. … Continued

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending January 11 2013

    To avoid significant cost increases and unexpected benefit cuts next year, TSCL encourages its members and supporters to examine all MA plan offerings closely before making a selection or allowing a plan to automatically renew. The open enrollment period ends on December 7th, and coverage begins on January 1st. In the meantime, TSCL will continue to monitor the status of the MA program and advocate for legislation like the Medicare Advantage Participant Bill of Rights Act, which would protect MA enrollees from unfair and abrupt changes to physician networks. .Obviously we will continue to push for passage of those bills and keep you updated about their progress as things develop. .The new bill would reform the health care system in several ways if adopted. It would remove the ACA's individual and employer mandates, modify tax credits so they would be based on age instead of income, create a new penalty for individuals who do not maintain continuous health insurance coverage, and allow health insurers to charge older Americans five times more than they charge younger folks for their coverage, making health insurance unaffordable for millions of seniors who are not yet eligible for Medicare. … Continued

It's unknown whether or not Congress will tackle the SGR before the end of the year, but most Subcommittee Members at Wednesday's hearing did seem set on providing extensions for the other payment provisions that are nearing expiration. .Earnings may cause your Social Security benefits to be subject to taxation. A portion of your Social Security benefits may be taxable if your income is over certain thresholds —,000 and up (individuals) or ,000 and up (couples filing jointly). .Locality pay adjustments are currently used to adjust the paychecks of federal workers. Federal employees receive a two-part pay adjustment that includes base pay (which is established by a specific formula set by law) and locality pay adjustments. The locality pay adjustment varies depending on where the employee works. The parameters aren't set by law but use metropolitan statistical areas to define locality pay areas. .Negotiations on how to fund the Social Security payroll tax cut and the Medicare physician "doc fix" continued this week. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (MI-4) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (MT) led the 20 congressional conference committee members in talks aimed at producing a bill by the February 29th deadline. .You should still watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if you've been around someone who is sick. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested and stay home and away from others. .This week, four new cosponsors signed on to Rep. Schwartz's (PA-13) Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act (H.R. 5707), bringing the total up to eighteen. The new cosponsors are: Reps. Ed Perlmutter (CO-7), Gerald Connolly (VA-11), Mazie Hirono (HI-2), and Paul Tonko (NY-21). .At the hearing, Burwell made two key points of interest to TSCL. First, she commented that she fully supports President Obama's proposal to increase means testing within Medicare. TSCL opposes the President's plan since we fear that it could have unintended consequences that would ultimately drive up costs for many of the oldest and poorest seniors. Second, Burwell committed to work with Congress to repeal and replace the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, which has brought instability to the Medicare program for more than a decade. TSCL supports efforts to find a permanent solution, since repealing the SGR will result in higher quality medical care for seniors. .For more information about legislation that would strengthen the Social Security and Medicare programs, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. For frequent updates from TSCL on Capitol Hill and to view photos from this week, follow us on Twitter. .The third piece of legislation they should pass is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 202It has always been considered to be "must pass" legislation because it authorizes so many things for the military, including pay. But as we reported last week, President Trump has threatened to veto the bill because it doesn't contain a measure that he wants passed having to do with the regulations of social media like Twitter and Facebook.