News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending June 30 2017

    Sources: "Medicare Beneficiaries Sue US Over Hospital Stays," David Morgan, Reuters, November 3, 2011. .An immigration program launched by the Obama Administration two years ago has issued valid, work-authorized Social Security numbers to about 600,000 applicants who attest to be in the country illegally. The program, known as "Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals," is one of a series of administrative amnesty initiatives by President Obama to stop deportations of immigrants and let undocumented immigrants who meet the qualifications work in this country despite illegal status. Now immigration activists are pressuring President Obama and Members of Congress to expand the Deferred Action program, or pass immigration reform. .The House passed the bill yesterday and the Senate is expected to take it up next week. … Continued

  • Faq How Are Medicare Benefits Impacted By The New Debt Deal

    And third, one new cosponsor – Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) – signed on to the Social Security 2100 Act (S. 2671), bringing the cosponsor total to two. If adopted, S. 2671 would comprehensively strengthen and reform the Social Security program by basing COLAs on the CPI-E, increasing monthly benefits by 2%, creating a new Special Minimum Benefit equal to 125% of the poverty line, providing a tax cut to Social Security beneficiaries, applying the payroll tax to annual income over 0,000, and gradually increasing the payroll tax rate by 0.25%. .Because a high percentage of taxpayers were affected by under-withholdings due to the problematic tax tables, the IRS allowed a waiver of penalties for both 2009 and 2010 tax years. But taxpayers have to request the waiver of penalties in order to receive it. According to the Treasury Inspector General, last year virtually no taxpayer surveyed knew they could request a waiver. .TSCL was stunned to learn just how big the disparity in drug prices can be. Johnson compared the highest and lowest prices of the top ten most-prescribed drugs in the U.S. using the Drug Plan Finder found on the Medicare website. The overall average cost difference between the highest - and lowest - cost plans for the top ten drugs was 3 per month. Johnson's comparison used one zip code as a control since prices vary depending on the part of the country where an individual lives, as well as between plans. In Johnson's zip code she had 23 plans to compare. … Continued

New Medicare enrollees, higher -income beneficiaries, people age 65 and older who have not started Social Security benefits (about 11% of beneficiaries).[5] .Seniors have lost almost one-third of their buying power since 2000, according to the 2013 Annual Survey of Senior Costs, conducted by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). TSCL's latest report adds fuel to the heated debate over controversial budget proposals to cut Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). .We are happy to see that the Trump administration is preparing an executive order that would require certain essential drugs and medical treatments for a variety of conditions be made in the U.S. The order comes in light of drug and device shortages during the pandemic. .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. .Rick is currently retired from the Central Georgia Multiple Listing Service, Inc., after serving 15 years as President and Chief Executive Officer. .The state of Virginia, however, offers retirees a chance to retain certain parts of coverage but "opt out" of others. If Paula "opted out" of Part D drug coverage, for example, and took medical, dental, and vision coverage alone, she would pay 6 per month. The portion of the premium for the drug coverage through the state of Virginia was a whopping 4 per month. .The President believes tying drug prices in the U.S. to those in other countries will bring down the prices here. However, the effect of his order won't be seen for some time and will only cover certain prescription drugs. The executive order requires that the secretary of Health and Human Services immediately test a payment model for Medicare to pay "no more than the most-favored-nation price," meaning the lowest price paid in other developed countries, for specific "high-cost" prescription drugs and products. .Fixing our dependence on China .My mother has suffered a stroke and needs to move to an assisted living facilty. She is having problems qualifying for Medicaid. Her only asset is her small apartment that we are trying to sell, but it could take months in this market. Most of the nursing facilities require ,000 and more per month. Is there anything I can do to help her qualify sooner?