News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending December 16 2016

    Eight new Members of Congress signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 1332) this week, bringing the cosponsor total up to 11If signed into law, the Social Security Fairness Act would repeal the government pension offset (GPO) and the windfall elimination provision (WEP) of the Social Security Act. .The order is a direct response to the President's efforts to greenlight the importation of drugs from Canada. .Seventy-eight percent of the prescriptions ordered by one Florida physician were for Schedule II drugs. For one beneficiary, this physician prescribed a 605-day supply of morphine, a 52day supply of oxycodone, a 460 - day supply of fentanyl, and a 34day supply of hydromophone. … Continued

  • 2015 2015 Annual Survey Senior Costs Study Methodology

    Why does decision making have to be so hard? How much time is the right amount to spend on thinking things over? Can you even name anyone who never made a bad decision? We can't either. .Minimal Workplace Enforcement—A Contributing Factor .Medicare supplements tend to have higher premiums than Medicare Advantage plans, but will cover most, or even all of your out-of-pocket costs, depending on which policy "A" –"N" that you choose. Medicare Advantage plans have lower premiums, but you instead pay co-pays for every service. If you get sick or you are hospitalized, your out-of-pocket costs could be thousands of dollars. But unlike Medicare alone, Medicare Advantage plans have annual out-of-pocket maximums to cap what you pay. Those maximums average ,332 in 2017 but can be as high as ,700. … Continued

Supplements and vitamins: Have you ever been surprised by a recommendation to put your dog on pet glucosamine or another joint supplement? Prices for these supplements at the vet can be up to 30% more than ordering these supplements online. Compare these prices at pet supply websites. .Now I say neglect, because it's been 38 years since Congress has done anything to strengthen Social Security and 50 year since we have improved its benefits. .Last year, under Shkreli's direction, Turing Pharmaceuticals made headlines for buying the rights to a decades-old anti-infective drug and hiking its price from .50 per pill to 0 per pill. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had tough questions for Turing's representatives at Thursday's hearing, and each of them expressed their dismay for the price gouging that is occurring in the pharmaceutical market. .Over the years, there have been many bills, some with large numbers of co-sponsors, to fix the Notch. Most of the proposed legislative "fixes" provided improved monthly benefits. "Notch Reform" bills encountered strenuous opposition. Objections centered on the lifetime cost of providing those benefits. In 1992, one widely-supported piece of legislation was estimated to cost 0 billion (including interest lost to the Social Security Trust Fund) through the year 2020. In addition, it was argued that the cost would cause the Social Security Trust Fund to become insolvent even sooner than projected. .In March 1988, the General Accounting Office (now General Accountability Office) cited an example of two Notch Babies who were sisters. Edith and Audrey started work at the same book bindery on the same day. Audrey was born in March 191Edith was born in June 191When they retired, Edith received a monthly benefit of 1.80 less than Audrey, a difference of almost 18%. .Congresswoman Gloria Negrete McLeod represents California's 35th Congressional District encompassing the communities of Bloomington, Chino, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona, and portions of Fontana and Rialto. .On Monday, Representatives Peter Roskam (IL-6) and John Carney (DE) re-introduced the bipartisan Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act (H.R. 818) with the support of twenty-three original cosponsors. If signed into law, the bill would combat fraud, waste, and abuse within the two programs. .How do I go about contacting the Social Security Administration? .How is Social Security different from a Ponzi scheme? Interestingly, the Social Security website has a research note comparing the two. Charles Ponzi became infamous in 1920 when he used the money he received from later investors to pay extravagant rates of return to early investors to entice more people to invest in his phony investment scheme. This only works when there's an ever-increasing number of new investors coming into the scheme. Eventually the scheme runs out of new investors and collapses, taking everyone's money with it.