News

  • Notch Bulletin February 2010 Advisor

    This is a much longer legislative update than usual but there is a lot of information about the pricing of prescription drugs that we believe is important for you to know and that you might be interested in. .Congress is now back in session but they will not begin considering new legislation for a few days. They are in the process of organizing for a new session and, of course, they will be involved in the electoral college process of electing a new President starting, but perhaps not concluding, on Wednesday. .This week, the Senate returned from break and President Barack Obama delivered the State of the Union address. New co-sponsors were also added to a pair of Social Security bills, and negotiations continue on how to fund the "doc fix." … Continued

  • Are You Overpaying For Prescription Drugs New Analysis Says Yes

    While the cost of the prescription is affordable, the drug causes a number of serious side effects. Susan needs to see her doctor more frequently for monitoring and blood tests. Her biggest prescription cost surprise was learning that her prescription vitamin, folic acid, which she needs to fight the side effects, was not covered under Medicare. Her Part D plan wanted 0.00 for a one-month supply. Susan instead orders an over-the-counter supply of 400 pills for .99 on Amazon, taking 7 pills every day to get to the required dosage, which is still not as effective as the prescription version of folic acid. Now her doctor is considering a different medication. .The poll results released this week show clearly that older voters want Congress to improve coverage of these essential services. The Senior Citizens League has endorsed legislation called the Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act (H.R. 508), a bipartisan bill introduced by Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40) and 130 cosponsors in the House of Representatives. If adopted, it would expand Medicare coverage to include vision, dental, and hearing services. .Second, in October, Congress passed legislation to strengthen Social Security's Disability Insurance (DI) program. Many of the recommendations that TSCL made to the House Ways and Means Committee back in August were signed into law, including provisions that will ramp up fraud prevention and test new work incentives for beneficiaries. Most importantly, the law prevents a 20 percent benefit cut that was scheduled to hit 11 million disabled beneficiaries in December 201A cut of that size would have been truly devastating for enrollees, and TSCL applauds Members of Congress for averting it. … Continued

And no matter what critics may say about the dire finances of the Social Security, the government can find the money for Notch Reform simply by cutting waste, fraud and abuse. The General Accountability Office reported earlier this year that government agencies made over billion in improper payments in fiscal year 200Forty-five billion would more than pay for a Notch settlement. TSCL estimates the cost of the Notch Fairness Act to be around billion. .Mary: Who tends to use anchors to influence our decisions, and when should we be wary? .Demographics dictate that Medicare spending will climb in the future as more people become eligible and enroll, and as aging increases the need for more healthcare services. Cutting the growth of Medicare spending without cutting access to affordable care for seniors will be a monumental challenge for Congress. TSCL believes a great deal more can be done to find savings by making the system more efficient and to clamp down on fraud, waste and abuse. .Sources: "Miami Actor, Cable Station Founder, Arrested In Medicare Fraud Takedown," Jay Weaver, The Miami Herald, May 14, 2013. .Providing help in emergencies, such as utility shutoffs, and .The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is provided to protect the buying power of Social Security benefits from rising prices. Yet for almost a decade, retirees have had to manage their household budgets despite COLAs that have been at unprecedented lows. During this period, typical retiree costs have continued to rise several times faster than overall inflation and, consequently, Social Security benefits have lost one-third of their buying power since 2000. .My sister's son-in-law lost his job several years ago, and not long after filed for disability. My sister says that after a recent tornado, he made "good" money cleaning up storm damage. I thought disability rules disqualified people from benefits if they work. Has this changed? .During these meetings, the following issues were discussed: Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, Social Security Notch fairness, Social Security Totalization Agreement reform, and repeal of both the windfall elimination provision (WEP) and the government pension offset (GPO). Support was expressed for many of these key issues, and TSCL looks forward to working with these offices in the future. .In July of 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act regarding risk adjustment. Under this rule, the Federal Government is requiring health insurers to provide confidential and detailed medical information about a person. Aside from the fact that this is an invasion of privacy, we must also remember the Federal Government's lack of accountability with health records when over 5 million TRICARE records were stolen from the car of a government contractor this past fall.