News

  • What Is The Notch

    Representative John Garamendi (CA-3) introduced H.R. 1553 on March 6, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. .High drug or health plan premiums don't necessarily purchase better coverage. For example, the generic blood pressure medication Lisinopril is one of the most commonly used prescriptions by Medicare beneficiaries. The least expensive Part D plan in my area charges The Part D initial coverage limit is ,960 this year. "That includes what both the beneficiary and the drug plan must pay, " explains TSCL's Chairman Ed Cates. Once in the doughnut hole, beneficiaries are on the hook for 65% of the cost of generic drugs, or 45% of the cost of brand name drugs. Medicare beneficiaries must spend a total of ,700 out of pocket in drug costs for the year, before catastrophic coverage kicks in. "Even then there's still some additional smaller co-insurance payments," Cates adds. .The Covid-19 pandemic has both heightened the urgency of reining in pharmaceutical costs yet also made it harder for lawmakers to act. Drug makers say limiting their profits could hamper efforts to create a vaccine against the virus, but medicines to treat it come with significant price tags. Gilead Sciences, Inc., set the price for its widely used Remdesivir at ,340 for a five-day treatment. .Indeed, during the 2005 debate over Social Security reform, one of the leading proposals would make changes to the benefit formula similar to those made in 197The proposal would tie the calculation of the initial retirement benefit to changes in price inflation. According to an analysis of a leading proposal by the Congressional Budget Office, when benefits are charted on a graph as shown here, they illustrate a "precipitous decline" in benefits and an all too familiar "V" shaped Notch. copay for Tier 1 generics, and the monthly premium is just .50 in the zip code used in this search. The most expensive plan charges a co-pay of .19, and the plan has a monthly premium of .30 — a difference of ,055.88 for the entire year counting premiums! .Starting a new medication can sometimes take you by surprise when drug plans don't cover the drug or charge higher co-pays than you can afford. If you're having trouble covering the cost of your medicine, here are some things to try: … Continued

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending May 30 2014

    Now more than ever, we must fight to ensure that when older Americans retire they can look forward to a stable economic future and reliable, high-quality healthcare. During the devastating economic recession, older Americans saw their hard-earned savings dwindle, lost millions in diminished pension funds, and were laid off just a few years before retirement. Now, Congress must work past partisan gridlock to support seniors. During my time in Congress, I've fought for seniors by reaching across the aisle to protect landmark programs like Medicare and Social Security and introduced commonsense legislation that will strengthen the financial security of older Americans. .By delaying the start of your benefit until your full retirement age of 66, your benefit will be 25% higher. Delay until age 70, and your Social Security payment will be 65% higher than if you start it at age 6This can make a huge difference in the monthly income you receive. For example, if entitled to a monthly benefit of ,000 at age 66, you would receive only 0 per month at age 6And if you can delay until age 70 you could take a retirement benefit of ,320. .Lawmakers compromised on the policy parameters of a long-term solution more than a year ago, but since then, they have been unable to come up with an offset to cover the cost of the 4 billion package. This week, Rep. Tom Price (GA-6), Chairman of the House Budget Committee, said, "We spend .6 trillion a year in this town – to come up with a pay-for ought to be relatively easy. There are things we have used before. There are areas in federal pensions … and rescission money that's available out there. We ought to be able to find some resources to pay for this patch." … Continued

Perhaps the single biggest difference between Ponzi schemes and Social Security is you and your vote. Voters have a tremendous influence in the choices that elected Members of Congress make to ensure that the program remains sound today and in the future. Social Security has been in continuous operation since 193Ponzi's scheme lasted barely 200 days. .Under current law, Social Security benefits are adjusted annually based on changes in the consumer price index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). According to the Social Security Administration, the intent of the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) is to help protect the buying power of benefits from increases in inflation. All beneficiaries receive the same percentage of increase, but the dollar amount varies based on the amount of benefits that one receives. In years in which inflation has gone down, there can be no COLA at all. .In new versions of this scam, scammers are impersonating the Social Security Administration using the Social Security Administration's own phone number as the incoming number on your caller ID. This is called "spoofing." Should you receive a call from someone alleging to be from the Social Security Administration you may report that information to the Social Security Office of Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271, or online at https://oig.ssa.gov/report. .Oxford's study, however, found that the vaccine not only prevented severe disease but appeared to cut transmission of the virus by two-thirds. The study has not been peer-reviewed yet. .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. .TSCL is mounting a campaign that strongly urges seniors nationwide to speak out against benefit cuts. "We hope you'll sign and return the petitions we are mailing to supporters against the 'Chained COLA'," says TSCL's Executive Director, Shannon Benton. "Chaining the COLA is a 2 billion cut that will reduce your benefits by as much as 9% over the course of a retirement," Benton notes. .Why should seniors be saddled with the ripple effect of things they don't even buy? That just doesn't make sense. .TSCL supports legislation that would lift or eliminate the Social Security taxable maximum. Such a change is estimated by Social Security Trustees to eliminate 67% of Social Security's long-term shortfall over 75 years while improving retirement security. .Medicare supplemental or Medigap policies tend to charge higher premiums, but cover most or all of the co-insurance costs for brief hospitalizations or doctor visits and other Medicare covered services. Medicare Advantage plans generally work in just the opposite fashion. Currently premiums are very low, but there could be considerable out-of-pocket co-payment costs should you require health care services.