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  • Seasonal Flu Not A Factor This Year

    Determining when to move to a senior living facility is a complicated decision — making process that involves being able to think dispassionately and realistically about long-term needs. That's a tall order for anybody. It often means talking to others, getting outside opinions, and help from professionals. .The AWI, however, is susceptible to causing permanent benefit reductions when it turns negative, which can happen in years of deep economic recession and extraordinarily high unemployment, as was the case in 2020. Last year, concerns were high that the reductions could be as high as 9.1%, according to an estimate by Social Security's Chief Actuary Stephen Goss. But since then the economy and wages have steadily recovered and the dip in the AWI, if any, is not expected to be so deep. .House Passes Funding Bill … Continued

  • Retirement Cost Hardest Cover

    Sources: "Phone Scammers and ‘Tele-doctors' Charged With Preying On Seniors in Fraud Case," Victoria Knight, NPR Health News, October 7, 201"U.S. Thwarts Medicare Genetic Testing Scam," Associated Press, September 29, 2019. .Medicare has recently issued a proposed rule that would require, with some exceptions, patients who stay in the hospital two days or less to be classified as observation patients, and those who stay longer to be admitted as an inpatient. But the rule does not require hospitals to tell patients when they are in observation status or allow them to appeal the decision before they leave. Medicare recommends patients who are in the hospital for "more than a few hours" to learn their status. TSCL believes that the rules unfairly burden Medicare patients and their families, and believes that patients have a right to know their observation status and to be given an opportunity to appeal the determination. To learn more, see the publication "Are You a Hospital Inpatient Or Outpatient, If You Have Medicare — Ask!" (CMS No. 11435). .The savings compound over time and are huge. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that chaining the CPI would cut COLAs by 2 billion from 2012021 alone and, if used in other federal retirement programs and for indexing taxes, would reduce deficits by about 0 billion over the next decade. … Continued

We want to emphasize that these are all projections based on the economic situation at the time they were developed. As we have seen in the past year, things can change dramatically and clearly, we still don't know how things will be in the coming months and year with regard to the pandemic. .According to the Associated Press, the AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, which is being used in Great Britain, does more than prevent people from falling seriously ill — it appears to reduce transmission of the virus and offers strong protection for three months on just a single dose, researchers said last week in an encouraging turn in the campaign to suppress the outbreak. .TSCL believes much more stringent measures are needed to protect Social Security and SSI programs from document fraud. TSCL supports legislation that would ban the use of unauthorized earnings for determining entitlement to Social Security benefits. In addition, TSCL supports stronger penalties for the use of fraudulent documents for obtaining federal benefits, including SSI. .The group offers a Seniors Program that connects eligible seniors 65 and older with local volunteer ophthalmologists who provide a medical eye exam (often at no out-of-pocket cost), and up to one year of follow-up care for any conditions diagnosed during the initial exam. .Trump's administration "has decided to pursue a radical and dangerous policy to set prices based on rates paid in countries that he has labeled as socialist, which will harm patients today and into the future," Stephen Ubl, the head of PhRMA, said in a statement. .Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R- Ky.) came under attack for criticizing state aid and suggesting some declare bankruptcy. He subsequently said he would consider such relief but not to address problems pre-dating the coronavirus crisis. McConnell insists that the next bill must contain language limiting liability for businesses as the economy reopens. .TSCL is fighting the plan to chain COLAs and believes seniors need a COLA that more adequately protects the buying power of their Social Security benefits. "Members of Congress are more likely to re-think voting for legislation when they see a large number of seniors are adamantly opposed to cutting COLAs," says Hyland. To learn more about proposals that would affect your Social Security benefits, get tips on reducing your Medicare costs, and sign up for TSCL's free online newsletter The Social Security & Medicare Advisor, visit TSCL at . .The Senior Citizens League strongly supports legislation in both the House and the Senate that would address this issue. H.R.576 Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act introduced by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA) in the House would expand Medicare to provide routine dental care. In the Senate, S.22 Medicare Dental Benefit Act, introduced by Senator Ben Cardin (MD) would also provide coverage for dental care. .According to Rep. Roskam, the bill would enhance data sharing between states and agencies so that they can more easily catch scammers, and it would modernize outdated fraud prevention systems. Upon introducing the bill, Rep. Carney said, "In this Congress, it's not easy to find areas where Democrats and Republicans agree, but fighting waste, fraud, and abuse while saving billions of taxpayer dollars just makes sense."