News
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Legislative Update For The Week Ending January 14 2011
In addition, U.S. Customs may be trying to clamp down on prescription drugs being shipped to American consumers from Canadian pharmacies. Although "reimportation" of prescription drugs from abroad continues to be illegal, Customs and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials have only intermittently seized shipments of Canadian drugs in the past. Canadian mail order pharmacies and drug-buying programs run by senior advocates reported earlier this year that the number of seizures has more than quadrupled recently. ."Opting out" of a former employer's coverage on occasion might be able to save you money, but it requires careful cost comparisons and sound guidance. Never make any change without first getting the unbiased advice from a trained Medicare benefits counselor. The service is provided free of charge through your State Health Insurance Program and is available at many local Agencies on Aging. Check your local yellow pages. .The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) shares Senator Nelson's concerns, and we are hopeful that Congress will take action in the near future to ensure lower out-of-pocket spending for Medicare beneficiaries. In the weeks ahead, we will continue to monitor the confirmation of Congressman Price, and we post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website. … Continued
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Update For Week Ending September 11 2021
It's no longer a matter of 'if' Congress will cut Social Security and Medicare, but "when" most policy observers now believe. Much will depend on Congressional budget negotiations in coming weeks as lawmakers address the extent to which borrowing can continue for payment of Social Security and Medicare benefits. .Rather than working on bipartisan legislation to solve the rural healthcare crisis, many of my colleagues have instead chosen the fantasy of "free" healthcare for all. In reality, "Medicare-for-all," as they call it – would put more than 1,000 rural U.S. hospitals in 46 states "at high risk of closure" among other devastating consequences, according to experts. .If you take one or more prescriptions, you may be shocked to learn how much you can save by comparing plans based on the prescriptions you use and switching drug plans, when you find a better match. This is an important financial habit to get into EVERY year. Drug plans routinely raise premiums and co-pays, and invariably what your best choice was in 2006 no longer holds true today. Although everyone's savings experience will be different based on the particular prescriptions they take, consider these cases from my files**: … Continued
Click here to add your name to a petition, learn how you can help, or take a poll. .For the last couple of weeks we've also reported on a hearing by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform regarding the prices that drug companies are charging for some of their drugs that are critical for the health of many seniors. .Overpayments are recovered by several means. If the beneficiary is still alive, the overpayment may be sent back to the Social Security Administration, or the Administration will withhold benefits until the amount is paid in full. Other means include seizing tax refunds, wage garnishments, settlements and civil suits. When beneficiaries can't afford to repay the overpayment, a lesser withholding amount can be requested, or beneficiaries can contact Social Security to set up a monthly installment plan to repay the amount. Those who don't agree that they have been overpaid can appeal. Learn more about overpayments at SocialSecurity.gov. .If adopted, H.R. 1170 would strengthen and expand the Social Security program by providing beneficiaries with a monthly benefit boost, basing cost-of-living adjustments on the CPI-E, and setting the Special Minimum Benefit at 125 percent of the poverty line. It would also apply the payroll tax to all income – including investment income – over 0,000. .The research appears to be good news in the desperate effort to arrest the spread of the virus and suggests a way to ease vaccine shortages and get people vaccinated more quickly. .In an ironic twist, the proposal runs counter to Republicans' belief in the free market system and Congressional Republicans have long opposed it, while Democrats, including Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), have long advocated it. .Congressional inaction on the debt ceiling is a growing concern of TSCL's for several reasons. If a default on the federal debt occurs, Social Security benefits would likely be delayed, and millions of seniors living on fixed incomes would suffer financially. In addition, doctors who treat Medicare patients would likely see postponements in their reimbursements from the federal government, and access to quality medical care would be jeopardized for beneficiaries. .When a zero COLA was announced for 2016, the Medicare Trustees projected that the Part B premium and deductible amounts would increase by an unprecedented 52 percent between 2015 and 2016 — from 4.90 to 9.30 per month.[7] Passage of The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, however resulted in reducing the increase in Part B premiums from 9.30 per month to 1.80 per month, which was still an extremely high 16.1 percent increase. The premium included a repayment amount that was added to monthly premiums of all beneficiaries in future years to recover over time the cost of the reduced premium rate in 2016.[8] .For many lawmakers and citizens, this news was disturbing but not surprising. This is exactly why Republicans are demanding that we stop raiding the current program and reform of the system for future generations. Doing nothing is not an option. The status quo will mean the end of Medicare as we know it. Yet instead of putting forth new ideas to reform the program and use the savings to shore up Medicare for future generations, Democrats transferred 0 billion out of Medicare to fund their latest entitlement program, the massive health care law.