News

  • Notch Bulletin January 2011 Feed

    Medicare Advantage plans require very careful scrutiny of potential costs. Some plans have lured seniors with low premiums and deductibles, only for enrollees to discover high undisclosed costs later. .House Democrats also Unveil Proposals to Lower Drug Prices .The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a federal program that can help eligible households with their heating and cooling costs. The program varies by state and, depending on where you live, can help with such things as: … Continued

  • Medicare Part D Will Cost Me More Feed

    What you don't know about Medicare supplements (Medigap) or Medicare Advantage plans could cost you dearly. The system is rigged in favor of Medicare insurers, and consumers often have little idea what they will need or be able to afford. Here are a few tips: .The Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act (H.R. 2575) also gained one new cosponsor this week, bringing its total up to seven in the House. If signed into law, the bill from Congressman Raul Ruiz (CA-36) would simplify the Medicare enrollment process and ensure that those nearing eligibility are adequately informed about the program's benefits. Its new cosponsor is Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12). .This week, three new cosponsors – Reps. Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Alcee Hastings (FL-20), and Robert Scott (VA-3) – signed on to the Strengthening Social Security Act (H.R. 3118). The cosponsor total is now up to thirty-three. If signed into law, the bill would reform the Social Security program in three ways: it would adjust the benefit formula, resulting in more generous monthly benefits; it would adopt a Consumer Price Index for the Elderly, resulting in more accurate cost-of-living adjustments; and it would lift the cap on income subject to the payroll tax. TSCL enthusiastically supports the Strengthening Social Security Act since it would extend the solvency of the Trust Fund responsibly, without cutting benefits. We were pleased to see support grow for it this week, and we look forward to helping build support for it in the coming months. … Continued

As we said above, the devil is in the details. Rather than signing four "executive orders," the only real executive order was the one on housing. The other three actions are marked as "memorandum," which carries less authority. .In a letter of endorsement, Art Cooper – Chairman of The Senior Citizens League's Board of Trustees – wrote: "TSCL salutes you for introducing legislation that would make COLAs more accurate, reduce senior poverty by boosting monthly benefits, cut taxes for millions of beneficiaries, and ask wealthier Americans to contribute to the program more fairly. Together, these changes would strengthen Social Security benefits while extending the solvency of the trust funds for decades to come." .Medicaid Cuts Would Hit Notch Babies And Families Hardest .TSCL will be keeping a close eye on the budget discussions in the weeks ahead since a government shutdown could impact the Social Security and Medicare programs negatively. We will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website, or over on our Facebook page. .For the last few weeks we have reported on President Trump's executive order to allow employers to defer payroll taxes owed by workers, which funds Social Security and Medicare. TSCL is opposed to payroll tax cuts of any kind because they seriously jeopardize the financial viability of both programs. .Prevention of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse – Ensure that scarce Medicare and Social Security dollars are spent properly. .While 401(k) plans have enjoyed a decade of relatively strong returns recently, these plans carry greater risk and place responsibility on individuals for saving, investment decisions, and management. "These are three skills sets that most of us have never adequately learned, much less ever expected to practice after we retired," says Johnson. "One simple mistake can affect your standard of living in retirement for years," Johnson says. .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. .TSCL is hopeful that Congress will pass these commonsense solutions as soon as possible to restore the solvency of the Social Security and Medicare programs. For more information on legislation that would strengthen these programs, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website.