News

  • Ask The Advisor November 2015

    No further information about the bill is available at this point but as soon as it is TSCL will review it to determine whether we will support it. .The federal contribution would be redirected from disaster relief money at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Those funds are not likely to last more than two months, and the President did not say when the benefits would kick in. .The Senior Medicare Patrol informs and empowers beneficiaries so that they may better detect, report, and protect against Medicare fraud. Volunteers focus on identity protection, and they also teach seniors to identify potential scams and to properly read their Medicare Summary Notices. There were more than fifty active Senior Medicare Patrol projects as of last year, with at least one in each state. To learn more about the Senior Medicare Patrol or to find a program near you, click HERE. … Continued

  • H R 649 Protecting And Preserving Social Security Act

    Senate Committee Discusses Social Security Benefit Maximization .If signed into law, S. 960 would base Social Security cost-of-living adjustments on the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) and gradually phase out the cap on income subject to the payroll tax. .The additional coronavirus emergency legislation is likely to crowd out many other items that were once on the Congressional priority lists for the summer. As a result, the list of other "must pass" legislation is increasingly small, with priority being given to bills to fund the federal government and renew Pentagon programs. … Continued

With so many grandparents becoming more involved in the day – to - day care of their grandchildren you may learn that you qualify for other programs that can reduce healthcare, food, and other expenses. We recommend that you take time to try the National Council on Aging's online "BenefitsCheckUp" screening tool to learn about benefit programs in your area. .However, MA insurers have already begun taking steps to reduce their costs in order to account for the cuts from CMS. As was noted in last week's legislative update, UnitedHealth – one of the largest MA plan providers – has dropped thousands of doctors from its networks, leaving many seniors doctor-less. It expects its physician network to be 85 percent of its pre-Obamacare size by the end of this year. TSCL is concerned that additional cuts to MA in 2015 will harm beneficiaries in other ways, by driving up premiums and reducing benefits. .Following the Thanksgiving recess – on Wednesday, November 30th – Democrats in the House will elect their party leaders. Republicans in both chambers and Democrats in the Senate chose their leadership teams last week. In the 115th Congress, they will be led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY), Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (NY), and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (WI-1), among others. .To address this issue, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (AZ), suggested that the Committee focus on waste, fraud, and abuse, since it's a topic that generally has bipartisan support. He stated, "Some people fear the solution has to be a cut in benefits. There may be very substantial savings that can be achieved through efficiencies." Most at the hearing seemed to agree with him. .It eliminated the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). This fifteen-member board of unelected officials was created by the Affordable Care Act in 2010 to keep Medicare spending down when it exceeded a certain level. While that level was never surpassed and no members were ever appointed to the board, TSCL felt that it could have threatened access to quality medical care for Medicare beneficiaries since it had the power to cut payments to doctors and limit networks of providers. TSCL has advocated for bipartisan legislation for years that would have eliminated the IPAB, and we were pleased that the Bipartisan Budget Act did just that. .Specialists are already warning that under the new "quality initiatives" some patients may have difficulty finding services under the new system as doctors join larger practices or stop accepting patients. As doctors reorganize and move into new HMO - like Accountable Care Organizations, all sorts of new questions are coming up. Does this payment system create an incentive to send unprofitably sick patients with complicated conditions elsewhere for care? How will the government measure quality, and what evidence will the Administration use to determine successful doctor performance? .All costs cited include premiums and prescription out-of-pocket. .Since people often move when they retire, under locality pay adjustment rates, the area they choose to live in during retirement could significantly impact the amount of Social Security they receive. Would retirees crowd into areas of the country with high locality pay adjustments? .In Washington, my priority is helping improve the lives of the American people, and that includes addressing our nation's retirement system to ensure it serves our seniors more effectively. One way Congress did this was by passing the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 201This bill, which passed with my support, will streamline and update our nation's retirement system in several ways, including removing the age limitation on IRA contributions, increasing access to retirement plans by allowing small businesses to join together to offer plans, and allowing penalty-free distributions from a retirement account for the birth or adoption of a child. This legislation isn't perfect, but it is a step forward, and I am glad the SECURE Act was passed into law at the end of 201While approximately half of American households still don't have an option for work-based retirement plans, as a nation we must continue to work to advance access to retirement savings vehicles and decrease barriers to entry for small employers who want to offer savings plans to their employees.