News

  • What Would Food Cost Today If Prices Increased As Fast As Medicare

    Now we are looking for viral deliverance when drug development is one of the world's most lucrative businesses, ownership of drug patents is disputed in endless court battles, and monopoly power often lets manufacturers set any price, no matter how extraordinary. A new cancer treatment can cost a half-million dollars, and old staples like insulin have risen manifold in price to thousands of dollars annually. .Last month, the Health and Human Services' watchdog agency announced plans to review the pace of inspections in nursing homes and barriers to completing them — referring to such checks as a "fundamental safeguard to ensure that nursing home residents are safe and receive high-quality care." .TSCL enthusiastically supports the bills mentioned above, and we look forward to helping build support for them in the coming months. … Continued

  • Legislative Update Week Ending January 20 2017

    This program provides benefits, based on earnings and work history, to workers with disabilities who are under full retirement age. Between 1990 and 2013, enrollment increased 112.5%. Of people receiving Social Security benefits, the number of disabled individuals has grown from 3.2 to 6.7 beneficiaries per 100 covered workers, according to the Congressional Research Service. .Your total earnings, including your earnings now until you stop working. .The trillion Senate Republican stimulus proposal comes with a measure that could curb federal spending in the future by reducing costs tied to Social Security, Medicare, and highway trust funds. … Continued

"Social Security benefits simply are not adequate when people with a Social Security benefit of even as much as ,288 per month are at risk of having their entire COLA used to cover rising Part B premiums," says Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. "That is what happened in 2018, and that left nothing to cover all other rising household costs," Johnson explains. .Benefit Bulletin: February 2014 Before Obamacare & 8220;Glitch,& 8221; There Was The Notch Glitch .TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 2745 and H.R. 2305, and we were pleased to see support grow for both of them this week. .Rep. Ted Deutch (FL-21) introduced H.R. 1811 on April 15, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and to the Committee on Education and the Workforce. .Because of the collapse in the real estate market, experts say that thousands of seniors who need assisted living or nursing home care are remaining in their homes longer because they can't sell or get the price they need to cover their long term care. According to Harris Meyer, in an article for Kaiser Health News, the situation is leaving families under pressure to either pay for their parents' placement with their own money, or to provide care themselves. .It pays to compare your options, but you need to do this soon, before the Medicare Open Enrollment period ends December 7th. For help shopping for a new drug or health plan locate Medicare benefit counselors in your area. Visit the State Health Insurance Program website — https://www.shiptacenter.org. .We understand that our proposal may not be the most perfect solution to the injustice; however, it stands a much better chance of getting passed in Congress and is the best possible solution we know of. .Interestingly, the big drug manufacturers do not like the new rule. A spokesperson for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the drug industry's largest trade group, said the rule is "unconscionable" for making it "harder for patients to use manufacturer cost-sharing assistance to lower their out-of-pocket costs for medicines." .Medical Care (prescription drugs and medical supplies, physicians' services, eyeglasses and eye care, hospital services)