News

  • Scotus Strengthens Social Security

    Here are a few secrets about Part D coverage that keep you stuck in your plan and overpaying for prescriptions: .The coverage offered through the state of Virginia, however, didn't offer the same additional benefits, and would cost Paula a monthly premium of 0 in 200If she chose to "opt out," Paula would not be able to receive Medicare supplemental coverage or drug coverage through her former employer in the future. .In 2019 you are allowed to earn ,640, or ,470 per month. If, for example, you were to earn ,000 this year then you would have ,180 withheld from your Social Security benefits. Your earnings would be ,360 in excess of ,640. Half of that is ,180. The Social Security Administration collects this by withholding your monthly Social Security payments until it collects the ,180. Let's say you get a retirement benefit of ,000, that could mean Social Security would withhold your entire Social Security benefit for the next seven months. Once the ,180 is collected the difference will be sent later. … Continued

  • Benefit Bulletin August 2015

    The goal is to prevent fraud and combat identity theft by removing the Social Security numbers. Fraud And Abuse Are Costing Medicare — (And You Too!) The federal government made more than billion in erroneous payments to Medicare Advantage health plans last year. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently testified that nearly 10% of payments to Medicare Advantage plans were improper. Those improper payments are driving up costs not only for Medicare, but also for every person in Medicare Part B. Government To Issue New Medicare Cards Watch Out For Scams! .Cruise passengers who are not fully vaccinated are more likely to get COVID-19, which spreads person-to-person, and outbreaks of COVID-19 have been reported on cruise ships. .(Washington, DC) – Medicare doesn't have the authority to negotiate drug prices, leaving millions of older Americans at risk of price gouging for their prescription drugs, according to a new comparison of drug plans by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). "Because Medicare isn't negotiating on our behalf, there's no consistency in drug pricing among drug plans," states TSCL's Medicare policy analyst, Mary Johnson, who performed the comparisons using the Medicare website's Drug Plan Finder. Costs vary enormously between plans. "The disparity in pricing for the same drug can be in the hundreds of dollars," says Johnson. … Continued

The report continues, "Two House panels last week approved legislation adding vision, hearing and dental coverage to Medicare. Dental is by far the most expensive and complicated of the three to roll out: the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office previously estimated that such coverage would cost 8 billion over 10 years, compared with billion for vision and billion for hearing coverage. .Our legislative team was pleased to see the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act advance out of the Ways and Means Committee this week, and we will be sure to monitor its progress as it moves to the House floor. Leaders expect it to be taken up during the week of June 15th, and it is expected to pass there with bipartisan support as well. For updates on the status of H.R. 1190, visit the Legislative News section of our website. .Because there was no waiver in the Covid relief bill, new legislation to waive the mandatory cuts is needed. Congress passed a similar waiver for Republicans' 2017 tax overhaul, which was passed in the same manner as the Covid-19 relief bill. .Key Bill Gains New Cosponsors .The order would broaden existing federal requirements for government agencies to prioritize buying supplies for medicines deemed "essential" from U.S. manufacturers, rather than companies in China or elsewhere around the world. ."This year's zero COLA combined with next year's insufficient increase will have a devastating impact on the long term adequacy of Social Security benefits for millions of Americans … we hope that you will act swiftly and responsibly before the end of this year," the letter stated. .Medicare health plans also have new rules about co-pays and co-insurance. Copayments can vary drastically between MA plans, but through 2018, individual plans were required to offer all enrollees in the plan's service area access to the same benefits at the same level of cost - sharing. In 2019, MA plans have the option of imposing tiers for the cost - sharing of contracted providers, as an incentive to encourage enrollees to seek care from specific providers. Plans that utilize tiered cost-sharing must disclose tiered co-pays and co-insurance amounts to enrollees and providers, ensure that services at each tier of cost-sharing are available to all enrollees, and ensure that all enrollees are charged the same amount for the same service from the same provider. .Senate Adopts Budget Resolution .Unless something is done, TSCL calculates there may be no COLA for next year.