News

  • March 2013 Newsday

    Hunger and food insecurity is a huge problem in America. Nearly 41 million Americans struggle to put food on the table each day, including five million seniors. Because of their lack of income, many of our seniors are often faced with the frightening decision of whether to purchase food or medicine. .Over the years, there have been many bills, some with large numbers of co-sponsors, to fix the Notch. Most of the proposed legislative "fixes" provided improved monthly benefits. "Notch Reform" bills encountered strenuous opposition. Objections centered on the lifetime cost of providing those benefits. In 1992, one widely-supported piece of legislation was estimated to cost 0 billion (including interest lost to the Social Security Trust Fund) through the year 2020. In addition, it was argued that the cost would cause the Social Security Trust Fund to become insolvent even sooner than projected. .Members of the Finance Committee seemed receptive to Blum's suggestions on Wednesday, but it remains to be seen whether they will act in the coming months. Thus far, one of the greatest hurdles for lawmakers has been coming up with an offset to cover the cost of the repeal – the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the price tag will be nearly 0 billion over ten years. TSCL is hopeful that lawmakers will repeal and replace the SGR by the end of this year in order to preserve seniors' access to quality medical care. As the discussions evolve over the coming months, we will continue to post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website. … Continued

  • Legislative Update June 12 2019

    The billion could be financed without taking money from the Social Security Trust Fund. One way is through reduction of pork barrel spending and government waste. In the fiscal year 2001 budget alone, pork "watch-dog" Senator John McCain (AZ-R) estimated that the government would spend a record billion in pork-barrel projects. .Plan for health changes as you age. What are the chances of developing a chronic condition, like asthma, diabetes or high blood pressure later in life? It's a good idea to set aside a portion of your retirement savings for healthcare emergencies and health changes as you age. One way to figure this is by using the out-of-pocket maximum limits on your health plan and Part D coverage. For example, having an emergency healthcare account of at least ,450 set aside for a senior in reasonable health in 2013 is a smart idea. If you are in a health plan that has a maximum annual out-of-pocket limit, you will want to try to have at least that much set aside every year (that may be about ,700 in 2013, for example). Your Part D out-of-pocket maximum in 2013 is ,750. .The situation is affecting lower-income seniors with modest resources because states require single seniors to exhaust nearly all of their assets, including their home equity, to qualify for Medicaid. Meyer reports that "Federal Medicaid rules allow states to exempt the home from consideration of financial eligiblilty if the family is making a good faith effort to sell, but not all states do." Depending on where they live, seniors may not qualify for Medicaid if they can't sell their home. … Continued

Proxy voting allows a member of the House to give to another member the right to cast a vote on his or her behalf. The member authorizing the proxy will stipulate how the vote should be cast and the member casting the proxy vote is required to abide by the wishes of the member granting the proxy. .This week, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) successfully hosted its first ever town hall meeting. Meanwhile, action on Capitol Hill remained slow as Members of both Houses of Congress remained in their home states and districts for the August recess. .This year's study found a 3 percentage point gain in the buying power of Social Security benefits from January 2019 to January 2020. That should indicate that most retirees may have seen at least some prices go down on certain items during that period. But this is deflation — which is a strong signal that there may be no COLA next year. This year's 1.6 percent COLA was already low to begin with. A recent deep plunge in oil prices have all but wiped out the prospect of a COLA. .Because Medicare is such a crucial program, most members of Congress usually stumble over themselves to protect it. However, if the situation ever presents itself, they will use threats to Medicare to bash the other party. .TSCL is working for legislation that would provide greater retirement security for older Americans as well as strengthening financing for Social Security. To learn more, visit . .Senate Committee Discusses SGR Alternatives .Payments for neurologist-prescribed brand name, but not generic, drugs in Medicare Part D increased consistently and well above inflation from 2013-2017. .1977 Changes Fixed An Earlier Flaw In The Benefit Formula .Surveys by The Senior Citizens League find that older voters are strongly opposed to proposals that would cut benefits. For example, 73 percent support raising the amount of wages subject to Social Security payroll taxes by applying the full 12.4% payroll tax to wages above the taxable maximum —8,700 in 201Currently the highest earners — some 18 percent of all workers, pay no Social Security taxes on wages over the 8,700 maximum — that includes Members of Congress who receive an annual salary 4,000. Surveys have also found 90 percent strongly support allowing Medicare to negotiate drug costs.