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  • Seniors Lose 34 Percent Of Their Buying Power Since 2000 2012 Annual Survey Of Senior Costs Finds Expenses Have Increased More Than Twice As Fast As Social Security Cola

    Senior Medicare Patrol Saved Millions in 2013 .Several subcommittee members at Thursday's hearing spoke about the importance of stable and reliable funding for the administration in the coming years so that it can continue its efforts to modernize the program's IT system. The Senior Citizens League agrees that adequate administrative funding is critical, and we will continue to advocate for the Social Security Administration Fairness Act (S. 6251, H.R. 3147) in the months ahead. That bill, if adopted, would set SSA's funding level at 1.5 percent of overall benefit payments, and it would implement a moratorium on field office closures so that beneficiaries receive the service they have earned and deserve. .It remains unclear, however, how broadly the order will be implemented — the executive order does not specify what drugs it covers. Instead, the order directs the Food and Drug Administration to decide which medicines will be subject to the new requirements. Certain drugs can also be exempted from the executive order if they are too expensive to make in the U.S. or the U.S. is not already making them. … Continued

  • Best Ways To Save July 2014

    Sources: "Homeowners Insurance Buying Guide," Consumer Reports, January 201"15 Surprising Consumer Actions & Beliefs Related To Homeowner's Insurance," PropertyCasualty360.com, March 28, 2017. .Locate the booklet of information about your drug plan for 2020. Your drug plan is required to send you "Evidence of Coverage" for 2020, a booklet that outlines your plan's coverage for your prescription drugs, and what you pay in general. If you don't have that information from your drug plan, or if you don't see answers to your specific questions, you can call the customer service representative of your drug plan directly, or you may find information about your drug plan online by searching drug plans at www.Medicare.gov. .President Trump recently released a proposal that could change the way drugs are sold in the U.S. Patients have been forced to pay out-of-pocket costs based on the rising list price of drugs. The proposal would require that often-secretive discounts or rebates, received by pharmacy benefit managers from drug companies, would have to be credited at the pharmacy when a patient fills a prescription. For patients who need expensive drugs, out-of-pocket costs are likely to go down. … Continued

TSCL is very supportive of the PRIME Act, since we believe that the failure to manage fraud results in higher taxes for all and higher premiums for Medicare beneficiaries. In addition, at a time when many deficit hawks are considering cuts to programs like Medicare and Medicaid, we believe it is critically important to ensure that scarce program dollars are being spent properly. TSCL looks forward to working with the sponsors of the PRIME Act to help build support for it, and we are hopeful that Congress will pass it into law by the end of the 113th Congress. .Worst of all, patients don't qualify for Medicare coverage of follow-up nursing home care, because Medicare requires three consecutive days in the hospital as an "inpatient." That leaves the patient and their families on their own to figure out how to pay nursing home bills, or to go without. .On the other hand, critics of the proposal argue that people can't always determine the timing of the application for Social Security benefits. They say that people are often forced to retire earlier than planned due to health problems, layoffs, new technology, or needing to care for one's parent or spouse. They argue that raising the age for full benefits results in reducing the early, age 62 benefit even more than it already is today. .Unfortunately, a long-time TSCL goal of reducing prescription drug prices did not make it into the newly introduced House bill. It appears that, as we have written before, legislation to reduce drug prices will not be dealt with until sometime in the fall. .TSCL is hopeful that President Trump will lend his support to the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act, since we believe it would go a long way in reducing the costs of lifesaving medications for beneficiaries. We will continue to advocate for it on Capitol Hill, and we hope to see it signed into law before the end of the 115th Congress. For more information, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. .TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 2745 and H.R. 2305, and we were pleased to see support grow for both of them this week. .According to the Inspector General's report, of the 6.5 million active numbers, the Social Security Administration had issued payments to 266 of the number holders, but a review found that only 13 people were likely to be still alive and collecting benefits. In addition to the problem of payments to the dead, the balance of the 6.5 million active numbers pose a risk because they could be stolen to claim fraudulent tax refunds and to work illegally. The IRS has estimated that it paid out .8 billion in fraudulent tax refunds in 2013 because of identity theft. .If signed into law, H.R. 973 would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) – two federal provisions that unfairly reduce or eliminate the earned Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, firefighters, peace officers, and other state or local government employees each year. .Lawmaker Sponsors Honesty in CPI Reporting Act