News

  • Legislative Update Februarymarch 2016

    WWII Vets Break Through Shutdown Barriers .(Washington, DC) – The upcoming Supreme Court Case on immigration could have significant consequences for Social Security and Medicare, says a report , released today by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments April 18th on President Obama's executive action on immigration. The president's immigration policy changes would allow an estimated 5 million undocumented immigrants, including parents of U.S. citizens or lawful residents, to obtain temporary deferral of deportation, work authorization and potential access to Social Security and Medicare benefits. .We reported last week that President Trump has dropped his demand for a payroll tax cut in any new pandemic-related stimulus bill, which TSCL successfully lobbied against, along with many other groups. However, other issues have caused great difficulty in negotiations for a new bill, one of which has not received much attention in the main press. … Continued

  • Legislative Update Week Ending June 26 2015

    Roughly 27% of older single women are at high risk of living in poverty, because they have little other income to augment their Social Security benefits. Single women have it worse in retirement than married couples and men, and are more likely to become impoverished as they age. Most women have lower benefits than men. Women tend to work in lower-paying jobs, get paid less than men, and take time out of the workforce to take care of children and older family members. That can leave zero earnings gaps, or only partial years of earnings for the time out of the work force. .Gather your medical expense records from the past year to three years, if you have them. Organization of these records not only helps you figure out your household budget, but keeping it all in one place helps you compile the amount to claim as medical expenses at tax time. Since expenses vary so much with your health, going back three years can help you get a better idea of average annual cost. .Use a consumer price index that better reflects the costs of retirees — the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E). … Continued

Republicans Sweep Tuesday's Elections .In a draft of regulations the FDA gave the following example: "if a person decides to produce and sell raw vegetable juice for use in juice therapy to promote optimal health, that product is a food subject to the requirements for foods … including the hazard analysis and critical control point system requirements for juices. If the juice therapy is intended for use as part of a disease treatment regimen instead of for general wellness, the vegetable juice would also be subject to regulation as a drug under the act." .Sources: "Social Security, Treasury Target Taxpayers For Their Parents' Decades-Old Debts," Marc Fisher, The Washington Post, April 10, 201 .Sources: "Humana Inc. Overcharged Medicare Nearly 0 Million, Federal Audit Finds," Fred Schulte, NPR, April 20, 202"Insurers Running Medicare Advantage Plans Overbill Taxpayers By Billions As Feds Struggle to Stop It," Fred Schulte and Lauren Weber, Kaiser Health News, July 16, 201"Reducing Medicare Advantage Overpayments," Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, February, 23, 2021. .What's Missing From Your 2015 Social Security Check? About 3 Says The Senior Citizens League .Reducing Medicare costs remains a top piece of unfinished business for TSCL. While Congress was successful in restraining a double-digit Medicare Part B increase in 2021, capping the increase at .90 per month rather than .60 more per month — I was particularly troubled to learn that .00 of the .90 Part B increase is a "repayment" charge. While TSCL congratulates Congress for passing legislation to hold the monthly Part B increase down, at least temporarily, the Part B increase wasn't "forgiven". The balance that won't be paid in 2021 will be recovered through a .00 per month repayment which will be tacked onto future Part B increases. That could take years. .For those planning retirement however, it is the estimated dollar amount in Social Security benefits, not the replacement rate, that what one uses to determine a retirement budget, or how much more one will need to save for retirement. When one retires, it is the actual benefit amount, not the replacement rate that one must live on. One of the most frequent requests for services received by Social Security Administration is for an estimate of benefits. While no promises of benefits are made, millions of estimates are made annually. If the rules are changed abruptly, as they were for those born during the Notch period, this leaves no time to save for the shortfalls in benefits (if they can be foreseen ahead of time). .Deficit hawks on Capitol Hill agree that the current inflation index is inaccurate, but instead of adopting a method that actually measures seniors' spending, many have been advocating for an index that would further trim COLAs. The "chained" CPI has been lauded by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle – including President Obama – as a small technical correction that would factor in the substitution that occurs when the prices of certain goods increase. However, since medical care – a major expense for seniors – cannot be substituted for something cheaper, this index would unfairly affect them. After ten years, adopting the "chained" CPI would result in an monthly benefit cut for the average retired couple, and that loss would continue to compound. .To get your health services through Original Medicare. If you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, deductibles and co-pays may apply to these preventive services. Check with your plan to see what costs and rules apply.