News

  • Benefit Bulletin August 2020

    On the unemployment payments to individuals, there are a lot of legal questions about the money the President wants to use to pay for this. He calls for billion of funding from the Department of Homeland Security's Disaster Relief Fund that is normally used for hurricanes, tornadoes, and massive fires to be shifted over to unemployment. .Extremely low cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) not only affect Social Security benefits, the 0.3% COLA also affects the amount of Medicare Part B premium people will pay in 201When no, or a very low, COLA occurs, a provision of law known as "hold harmless" is triggered. Under the provision, when an individual's Social Security COLA is insufficient to cover the increase in the individual's Medicare Part B premium, the Part B premium is adjusted so that the Social Security benefit isn't reduced from one year to the next. .This is all good news. In addition to the cost of pharmaceuticals, the simple availability of them is crucial for seniors, especially during times like this. … Continued

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending April 1 2016

    Airlines frequently note that commercial planes are equipped with HEPA filters, the Centers for Disease Control-recommended air filters used in hospital isolation rooms. HEPA filters capture 99.97% of airborne particles and substantially reduce the risk of viral spread. In addition, the air in plane cabins is completely changed over 10 to 12 times per hour, raising the air quality above that of a normal building. .Immigration reform that provides work authorization, and a pending Social Security Totalization Agreement with Mexico, could mean that a very substantial amount of earnings in the ESF file would be reinstated in the future. Because earnings are used to determine both the number of quarters of coverage worked for insured status, and is used to calculate the initial benefit, this poses a substantial liability to the Social Security Trust Fund worsening its solvency. .TSCL is receiving a large number of comments about the impact of no COLA from retirees around the country, and recently started posting some of the stories. According to new research for TSCL, there are several important factors affecting why COLAs aren't accurately reflecting retiree healthcare costs. "First of all, the consumer price index (CPI) used to calculate Social Security and other retiree COLAs doesn't survey the spending of people age 65 and over," Cates explains. The Consumer Price Index for Workers (CPI-W) does not include changes in Medicare premiums, according to background information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). … Continued

Patients would spend less to achieve better health. Value-based care systems focus on helping patients to recover from illness and on managing or avoiding chronic disease. The aim is to decrease the need for doctor visits, medical tests and procedures, and to reduce the amount of money spent on prescriptions while improving health. Value-based care encourages health providers to spend time on prevention-based services in order to focus more efforts on managing chronic disease with the goal of reducing costs like emergency room visits and hospitalizations. .This week, the Ways and Means Committee advanced a bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), and The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) saw one key bills gain support. .Last week there was major news concerning Social Security, Medicare, and prescription drug prices – or at least so it seemed. But "the devil is in the details" and we will try to sort it out for you below. .You may be surprised to learn that Members of Congress, and their congressional staff, receive their employer-sponsored insurance through Obamacare. Their health benefits would also be affected by an Obamacare repeal as well — but unlike your sister and millions of other Americans, Members of Congress already have high quality health insurance to replace their Obamacare plans. In fact, the premium costs of some Members of Congress could go down as they transition back to getting insurance through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB). .Why Does My Doctor's Office Need to Call My Insurer Before Scheduling a CT Scan? .The age at which you stop working. .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. .After a bill passes Congress there is a certain process that must be followed when it is transmitted to the President for his signature. That is why the extra time is needed at this point. .TSCL has serious concerns about several of the provisions in the AHCA, including the tax cut that would endanger the Medicare program. As discussions continue to advance the bill, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) will continue to monitor them, and we will advocate on Capitol Hill for policies that would protect the Medicare Trust Fund while reducing out-of-pocket costs for older Americans. For progress updates, follow TSCL on Facebook or Twitter.