News

  • Legislative Update July Advisor

    TREA Senior Citizens League (TSCL) was formed in 1993 to protect "earned" Social Security and Medicare benefits. Many TSCL members are affected by the Notch, and rank Notch Reform as their top legislative priority. TSCL is the only national senior citizens action organization to continue to lobby for Notch Reform. To date, TSCL has 1.3 million members and supporters who participate in a number of grassroots lobbying and public education campaigns. .This week, progress stalled on a continuing resolution to fund the federal government past September 30th. In addition, one Senate committee held a hearing on maximizing Social Security benefits. .TSCL encourages its members and supporters to attend these events and to ask questions of their elected officials about important Social Security and Medicare issues, like the following four… … Continued

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending April 5 2019

    Radical Medicare Overhaul Proposal In Senate .As of yet the White House has not put out President Biden's plans for drug pricing legislation, or how strongly they will push for it. .In 2015, the Senate Finance Committee came up with a simpler explanation for high drug prices. After reviewing 20,000 pages of company documents, it found that Gilead Sciences had what the committee's ranking Democratic member, Ron Wyden of Oregon, called "a calculated scheme for pricing and marketing its hepatitis C drug based on one primary goal, maximizing revenue." … Continued

Town Hall Question: Research indicates that seniors have already lost more than 30 percent of their purchasing power since 2000. What is your position on the adoption of the "chained" CPI for the calculation of Social Security COLAs? .For this week, lawmakers in the House and Senate remained in their home states and districts for the final week before they return to Washington following the Labor Day holiday. .Not only does this put unwitting retirees' Medicare number in the hands of crooks who can then resell it to be used to file more false claims, but it can cause Medicare to deny future coverage for genetic testing when it's really needed, because the patient's record will show the test has already been performed. .Surveys show a majority of Americans would like to see an increase in the Social Security payroll tax, but a new tax reform proposal would eliminate the 12.4 percent payroll tax altogether. This would end Social Security as we know it and transform it into a welfare program for older Americans. Do you support this drastic new proposal? .This week, The Senior Citizens League saw support grow for three key bills that would strengthen and improve the Social Security and Medicare programs if adopted by Congress. .What you don't know about Medicare supplements (Medigap) or Medicare Advantage plans could cost you dearly. The system is rigged in favor of Medicare insurers, and consumers often have little idea what they will need or be able to afford. Here are a few tips: .When no, or a very low, COLA occurs, a provision of law known as "hold harmless" is triggered. Under the provision, when an individual's Social Security COLA is insufficient to cover the increase in the Medicare Part B premium, the Part B premium is adjusted so that one's Social Security benefit isn't reduced from one year to the next. About 70% of Medicare beneficiaries are protected by hold harmless from rising premiums. .TSCL's Board of Trustees Visits Capitol Hill .Americans are anxious to get back to normal after over a year of being limited in their activities because of the pandemic. For many seniors, as well as others, that includes vacationing, and vacationing includes trips on cruise ships.