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    TSCL strongly supports legislation that would provide 70 million Americans with a one-time emergency COLA payment of 3.9% (0). The Seniors and Veterans Emergency (SAVE) Benefits Act (S.2251) was introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren, and a companion bill was introduced in the House by Representative Alan Grayson, H.R. 4012. .The bill would provide seniors with vision benefits in 2022, hearing benefits in 2023 and some dental benefits by 202Progressives are pushing for an earlier start to the dental benefits and that the government increase its share of the cost, which ramps up to 50% by 2032. .How much are you spending on prescriptions? Be sure to take TSCL's 2019 Senior Survey and let us know. TSCL is working with Members of Congress to enact legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices and supports bills that would cap or reduce out-of-pocket spending. … Continued

  • Supreme Court Decision Could Have Big Consequences For Social Security And Medicare

    When the Great Recession hit eight-plus years ago, the focus was on the double-digit unemployment rates and the devastating impact on recent college and high school graduates. Largely ignored in the discussion were mature workers who were hit equally as hard. .The agreement appears ambiguous on this issue, and TSCL has filed four Freedom of Information Act requests in order to obtain copies of estimates of the cost to Social Security. After receiving the first known copy of the agreement in December of 2006, which apparently had never been made public, even to Members of Congress, the battle to obtain key documents in federal court has continued for TSCL. According to the State Department, public disclosure of the withheld information would risk undermining U.S. efforts in important areas of U.S. foreign policy. TSCL rejects this and will ask the judge to look at documents to see if they have been properly withheld. Although current U.S. law forbids the payment of Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants, there are loopholes and exceptions. .Though these scam attempts can be daunting, we can defeat them with vigilance, education, accountability and protection. And the burden is not just on our seniors – it's on each of us to stand together as a community against these attacks. … Continued

Your drug plan will provide you with forms and a package of information about how your mail order program works. You will need to ask your doctor for a 90-day prescription. Since it can take up to two weeks for delivery, make sure you either have a 30-day supply of your prescription on hand when you place your first order, or ask your doctor for a temporary 30-day prescription in addition to the 90-day, so that you can fill it at your retail pharmacy if you need to start the medication right away. .Johnson selected 20 companies for her sample and downloaded each company's public 2018 proxy information, which contains Executive Compensation Tables required by the Security Exchange Commission. The analysis uses only the actual salary and performance pay, both of which are subject to Medicare and Social Security payroll taxes up to the limit. No stock awards were included. .We will be watching all of the candidates closely as we approach the November elections. Seniors are not being over-paid by Social Security and are not under-paying for Medicare. Getting Congress to pass a fair COLA that reflects the true cost of living for Seniors' remain one of our top priorities and we will keep you informed about what the candidates say about the Social Security and Medicare issue and details on their platforms are released. .TSCL is very supportive of the Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act, since it would make COLAs more accurate and extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Funds responsibly, without enacting benefit cuts. Currently, Rep. Deutch's bill has five cosponsors – Reps. David Cicilline (RI-1), Marcy Kaptur (OH-9), James Langevin (RI-2), Chellie Pingree (ME-1), and Jan Schakowsky (IL-9). We look forward to working with Rep. Deutch and Sen. Begich in the coming months to help build support and to pass the Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act into law. .Generic drugs account for 84% of drugs sold nationally, but only 12% of spending. .How have you been affected by COVID-19? Share your story with us at . .Watch your mail for information from your current Medicare supplemental or Medicare Advantage, and drug plan insurers. Your insurers will send you notification of changes in coverage, such as premiums, deductible, and co-insurance or co-payment costs for 200Carefully review these documents and compare them with your costs in 200File these documents where you can easily refer to them because you will need to use them for comparison when comparing other insurance options. .The Senior Citizens League believes the inflation index that is currently used to calculate the COLA – the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W) – underestimates the inflation that Social Security beneficiaries experience largely because it fails to account for rising Medicare costs. .According to testimony from a hearing on the problem held by the Senate Special Committee on Aging, fraudsters are "hijacking" federal benefits by using personal information such as name, date of birth and Social Security number. One victim who testified, Alexandra Lane, 73, of Florida went through a 50-day ordeal to recover close to ,500 worth of payments, which was not resolved until she turned to Senator Bill Nelson (FL) for assistance. Getting the money back has taken even longer, almost six months, for others.