News

  • Seniors Will Get 3 6 Cola Next Year But Lower Colas May Be Ahead

    Excludes medical documentation from doctors or healthcare providers convicted of fraud or excluded from participation in federal health care programs. .In addition, should your husband improve and regain the ability to work, he would be allowed to earn ,580/month in 2021 before his benefits would be temporarily reduced due to Social Security's earnings restriction rules. Under disability rules, your husband could not earn more than ,310/month without losing eligibility for disability benefits altogether. Should your husband continue to improve, he could earn more by the year he attains full retirement age. .Older adults age 65 and up have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-1Because retirees depend on Social Security for a major share of their income, they tend to spend their benefits on essentials right away. We feel that boosting the inflation adjustment is an important way to get crucial extra cash to older Americans and back into our nation's economy. … Continued

  • Legislative Update Week Ending June 15 2018

    CBO Releases New Budget Report .For more information, or to see if your Members of Congress have scheduled town halls before the November elections, call their local offices..Use the Contact Congress feature on the Home page of this site to obtain the names, addresses and other information on your Congressional delegation. You can even e-mail directly and sign our on-line petition in this full featured legislative action center. Click Guide to Contacting Congress to go to this section now. … Continued

Medicare Reform – Protecting seniors from sudden and harsh changes to the program. .Even if your income will be slightly higher in 2018 you should apply, because the income and resource limits are adjusted annually and will likely be somewhat higher next year. "Resources " refer to money in checking and savings accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Don't rule out applying just because you own your own home. Your home, car, household items, burial plot up to ,500 for burial expenses per person, and life insurance policies ARE NOT counted as resources. .The Social Security report projected the combined reserves of the Old Age, Survivor and Disability trust funds would be depleted in 2035, resulting in across-the-board benefit cuts of about 21% unless Congress stepped in before then. .At this time, the FDA has authorized one COVID-19 self-test to be completely used and processed at home. You will risk unknowingly spreading COVID-19 or not getting treated appropriately if you use an unauthorized test. .If adopted, this key bill would improve Social Security COLAs by basing them on the CPI-E, and it would cover the cost by phasing out the payroll tax cap over the course of seven years. Together, these changes would improve the adequacy of Social Security benefits and strengthen the solvency of the Trust Funds past 2035. .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. .Eliminating the tax on Social Security benefits that currently applies to individuals with incomes as low as ,000 and married couples with incomes less than ,000. ."The question becomes how we can strengthen the retirement security of today's retirees, while strengthening funding for both Medicare and Social Security at the same time," Johnson says. .How to Protect Yourself and Others