News

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending February 21 2014

    Why Does My Doctor's Office Need to Call My Insurer Before Scheduling a CT Scan? .Immigration Reform .Be wary of the information from this acquaintance, and any claim that she has obtained the ,000. While it may be a simple misunderstanding, be careful of scams. Make sure your mom knows she should never give out her Social Security number over the phone to anyone or to anyone you meet who says that it's required in order to receive the ,000 settlement. … Continued

  • How Your Donation Helps

    Medicare Extra Help helps pay for some, or most, of the out-of-pocket costs for Medicare prescription drug coverage. It is also known as the Part D "Low-Income" subsidy. Extra Help pays for the Part D premium up to a certain amount (specific to your state), lowers the cost of your prescription drugs, gives you special enrollment periods to switch plans, and eliminates the Part D late enrollment penalty if you did not enroll in Part D by your original deadline. If your income is under ,615 (individuals) or ,175 (married couples) and you have limited savings and resources, you might be eligible. Apply for Medicare Extra Help on the Social Security website www.SSA.gov. .According to a report in The Hill, a Washington, D.C., newspaper, "There are further administrative steps that need to happen before the proposal will actually take effect and result in lower drug prices. The secretary of Health and Human Services will have to issue the details of the proposal, and there will be an array of questions as to how the policy will work in practice. .With respect to security: When The Senior Citizens League transfers and receives certain types of sensitive information such as financial or health information, we redirect visitors to a secure server and will notify visitors through a pop-up screen on our site. … Continued

Finally, one new cosponsor – Rep. Joyce Beatty (OH-3) – signed on to the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 1795) this week, bringing the total up to ninety-four. If signed into law, the bill would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – two provisions that unfairly reduce the earned Social Security benefits of millions of state and local government employees each year. .TSCL is opposed to this new rule. It is not possible to reduce the costs of prescription drugs by taking actions that end up making those who need the drugs pay more. .Super Committee Running out of Time .In recent years the Earnings Suspense File has been growing at an unprecedented pace. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, Russ Knocke, was recently quoted as saying that, last year, as many as 10% of the wage reports received by the Social Security Administration (SSA) belonged to employees whose name and Social Security number did not match those of SSA. .The report found similar price disparities in expensive specialty drugs that treat complicated conditions like cancer. .I'm Entitled to a Pension for Work as a City Cop… .Gathering support for the legislation, which would cap drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries and force drug manufacturers to provide Medicare inflation rebates, has been an uphill battle for Grassley over the past year. .The new low comes as COLAs have flat-lined over the past seven years, averaging just 1.2% — less than half the 3% average over the two decades prior to 20The long-term financial impact on anticipated retirement benefits is significant and growing, says TSCL's Executive Director, Shannon Benton. "People lose the effect of compounding when benefit raises are at these extreme lows," she explains. "That reduces the Social Security income that retirees may have been counting on over their retirement." .On Wednesday, the budget conference that was created in last month's deal to raise the debt ceiling and re-open the government met publicly for the first time. Each of the twenty-nine members – including seven House members and all twenty-two members of the Senate Budget Committee – made opening statements to establish their positions. As expected, many of the conferees seemed split along party lines on Wednesday, but each of them stressed a strong desire to reach an agreement.