News

  • Legislative Update For The Week Ending July 22 2011 Feed

    While the reasons for that are still being explored, it is likely the wearing of masks, frequent hand washing and staying away from crowds contributed to those results. .A recent TSCL poll indicates that retirees are split between housing and healthcare costs as the hardest to cover. Forty percent of respondents said that housing, heat and utilities were hardest. Another 40% said healthcare and medications were hardest. Sixteen percent said nourishing food. Four percent said transportation was their most difficult cost. ."We are saying you need to be doing more inspections," Verma told reporters, explaining her message to states. "We called on states in early March to go into every single nursing home and to do a focused inspection around infection control." … Continued

  • Congressional Corner Protect Medicare For Today And Save It For The Future

    In the days and weeks ahead, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) will closely monitor the movement of S. Con. Res. 3 since a repeal of the Affordable Care Act will impact older Americans in several ways. For instance, progress that has been made to close the Medicare Part D prescription drug "doughnut hole" will be reversed, and the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund that finances Medicare Part A will lose a critical stream of funding created by the law. Throughout the 115th Congress, TSCL's legislative team will continue to advocate on Capitol Hill for legislation that would reduce any negative impacts on the Medicare program. .This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for two key bills that would improve retirement security in America if adopted. .Initial Coverage Period: During this stage of coverage you pay a co-pay or co-insurance of 25% of the cost of covered drugs, and the plan pays 75%, up to a total of ,005 (beneficiary) and ,015 (plan). This includes any applicable deductible. Your plan's full retail drug cost, not your co-pay, is what counts toward entering the coverage gap. Your co-pays or True Out-of-Pocket costs (TrOOP) count toward exiting the coverage gap and qualifying for catastrophic coverage. … Continued

Congress already had deferred most employer payroll taxes for the rest of 2020, so the President is now attempting to defer workers' payroll taxes. This relief only applies to people who are working and collecting a paycheck. Most importantly for seniors, if the taxes were not repaid, it would move the Social Security Trust Fund more quickly toward insolvency. .Grassley has previously said he needs at least 25 Republican co-sponsors to get his bill to the floor and sees backing from the White House as important in getting more votes. About a dozen Republicans other than Grassley have so far publicly expressed support for the legislation. .What Is Tracked In Determining The COLA? .Unlike most of the top 10 causes of death, such as heart disease and cancer, which are covered in large part by Medicare, Alzheimer's care comes with extraordinary costs that are not covered. Medicare covers medically necessary inpatient hospital care, doctor's fees, outpatient services such as blood tests, and Part D covers many prescription drugs. However, a dementia diagnosis most often requires custodial care, like help bathing, eating, dressing, and supervision. Medicare does not cover custodial care. .Help! My Insulin Costs Skyrocketed. Health Plan Blames Covid-19! .However, the statisticians behind it at the University of Washington have since changed their methods, and they now estimate that doing away with social distancing measures could entail vast numbers of deaths, and that widespread mask-wearing in public could save tens of thousands of lives. .With So Much At Stake It's Time to Challenge Elected Lawmakers! .The Senior Citizens League is pleased that lawmakers successfully advanced legislation that will result in lower out-of-pocket costs at pharmacies, but we believe Congress can and must do more to reduce prescription drug prices. In the months ahead, we will continue to advocate for comprehensive legislation like the Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drug Prices Act (S. 771, H.R. 1776), which would lead to significantly lower costs for seniors if adopted. For progress updates, follow The Senior Citizens League on Twitter or visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. .Potential amendments to the bill were discussed at the hearing, and at this point in the process it seems that measures to strengthen border security and enhance Congressional oversight will be put forth. One committee member, Sen. Al Franken (MN), stated: "I and other Senators will do everything we can to amend this bill." Members of the Gang of Eight, on the other hand, have said they will band together to defeat any amendments that would weaken it.