News

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending August 10 2012

    Three Key Bills Re-Introduced in Congress .Industry groups and health systems led by the American Hospital Association challenged the rule, arguing that the rule would do more harm than good because it won't "tell consumers their actual out-of-pocket costs, will likely produce confusion and may be less effective than the price-transparency tools the hospital field has been developing." .It sounds as though your daughter's father-in-law didn't sign up for Medicare Part B by his enrollment deadline and is now subject to a late enrollment penalty. For each 12-month period he delayed enrollment in Medicare Part B, he will have to pay a 10% Part B penalty. A penalty of as much as an extra 0 per month in addition to the current premium of 8.50 for 2021, suggests that he is being penalized for a 16-year period he did not have Medicare coverage. That suggests that he didn't enroll at age 6That would mean his base Medicare Part B premium could be 8.50 per month when he enrolls. … Continued

  • What Is Notch Feed

    Medicaid is popular with the public. When asked about their views on Medicaid, three-fourths (74 percent) of the public, including majorities of Democrats (84 percent), independents (76 percent), and Republicans (61 percent), hold a favorable view of Medicaid. Majorities also support increasing funding for Medicaid or keeping it the same, with 40% increasing funding, and 47% who support keeping funding at the same level. .With more than 17 million Medicare Advantage enrollees, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services hasn't been able to ensure that their risk scores are accurate. When CMS has checked, nearly one - third of the scores were too high. "Given the size of Medicare Advantage, even a small error can add up to billions in overpayments," says TSCL Executive Director Shannon Benton. "TSCL believes that home visits should be focused on providing better care to the patient, not boosting health plan profits." .Furthermore, this hurricane season is predicted to be a very bad one and money taken from FEMA for unemployment payments may be needed to deal with the destruction caused by the storms. What is more, the California fire season appears to be underway and federal funds are often used for relief efforts with those. … Continued

Depending on your income, you may qualify for Medicare Extra Help, which can cover most or all of your prescription drug premium and out-of-pocket costs. Your SHIP counselor may also know of special programs in your state. .TSCL enthusiastically supports the bills mentioned above, and we look forward to helping build support for them in the coming months. .Source: The Federal Government's Long-Term Fiscal Outlook, Government Accountability Office, October 201"Monitoring Medicare+Choice, What Have We Learned?" Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., August, 2004. .The SEC chairman would appoint a director to lead the task force, which would include staff from several offices at the commission. Task force members would not receive additional compensation. .On Thursday, with a vote of 326-96, lawmakers in the House passed legislation that will fund the federal government past December 9th. The short-term continuing resolution (CR) will provide funding at a .07 trillion rate – up slightly from the current rate of .067 trillion – through April 28, 2017. .In its June 2018 Long Term Budget Outlook, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that earnings will grow faster for higher-income people than for others over the next 30 years. The CBO expects that trend to lead to a decrease in the amount of payroll tax receipts that otherwise would flow into Social Security, as a greater share of earnings will be above the maximum amount subject to Social Security payroll taxes. .With respect to cookies: The Senior Citizens League uses cookies to record session information, such as items that visitors add to their shopping cart. .For 4 per month the state of Virginia retirees should be able to purchase the most comprehensive drug coverage available nationally. But that was not the case. In fact, the drug benefits offered for 4 per month were almost identical to what Paula could purchase directly on her own for just .70 per month. The cost is so much lower because the federal government pays subsidies that cover an average of 75% of the cost of the Part D premium. Paula could not enjoy that savings if she received her Part D coverage through the state of Virginia retiree plan. If Paula chose to "opt out," she could find an even less costly plan that provided better coverage for the drugs she currently took. .This week, action on Capitol Hill remained slow as the fall recess continued.