News

  • Category Issues Medicare Part D Articles

    As you may have heard, Social Security recipients received a cost-of-living increase this year. This is good news for seniors, but it's not good enough. .At Wednesday's hearing, key witnesses made several recommendations for improving the process. Sita Nataraj Slavov – Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University – suggested that SSA stop using the term "retirement age" since it suggests that individuals should claim benefits immediately after they stop working. She also recommended that SSA begin referring to age 70 as the "full" retirement age since it is the age at which benefits are the highest. In addition, William Meyer of Social Security Solutions, Inc. suggested that SSA notify individuals of the annual difference in benefits they would receive if they delayed filing for one year. .This week, lawmakers in the House postponed a scheduled vote on the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and leaders made last-minute changes to the text of the bill. In addition, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) delivered letters to Congress urging leaders to address the looming debt ceiling crisis. … Continued

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending April 11 2014

    Under both measures, the poverty rate increases with age, and was higher for people in relatively poor health. .Sources: "Medicare Beneficiaries Sue US Over Hospital Stays," David Morgan, Reuters, November 3, 2011. .Although not many studies exist, according to one study of average earners born from 1917 through 1926, the disparity in benefits with other retirees seems to average about 26%. … Continued

To learn more about your enrollment deadlines for Medicare visit www.Medicare.gov. .(CDC's mission is to protect America from health, safety, and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable, or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same.) .In July of 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act regarding risk adjustment. Under this rule, the Federal Government is requiring health insurers to provide confidential and detailed medical information about a person. Aside from the fact that this is an invasion of privacy, we must also remember the Federal Government's lack of accountability with health records when over 5 million TRICARE records were stolen from the car of a government contractor this past fall. .Since people often move when they retire, under locality pay adjustment rates, the area they choose to live in during retirement could significantly impact the amount of Social Security they receive. Would retirees crowd into areas of the country with high locality pay adjustments? .This week, four new cosponsors signed on to Congressman John Garamendi's (CA-3) bipartisan Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) Act (H.R. 1251), which would base the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) on a more fair and adequate inflation index if adopted. The new cosponsors are Congressmen Marc Veasey (TX-33), Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (MP), Vincente Gonzalez (TX-15), and Andre Carson (IN-7). The cosponsor total for H.R. 1251 is now up to forty-three. .Seniors and Baby Boomers nearing retirement have every right to object and that doesn't make anybody greedy for doing so. After 1983, when the Social Security Trust Fund began building up reserves, our government proceeded to use all excess funds, and replaced that money with .6 trillion in special non-marketable bonds, or I.O.U.s. Seniors are frequently told those I.O.U.s are backed by the full faith of the U.S. government which has never defaulted on its debt. But now that the U.S. Treasury must borrow to pay the interest due to the I.O.U.s held by the Trust Fund, lawmakers are considering plans that would cut promised Social Security benefits. If a government default on the U.S. savings bonds held by public investors is unthinkable — why is cutting obligations to Social Security beneficiaries any less so? .Some policy analysts argue that the "chained" CPI is more accurate, but the Congressional Budget Office has stated that using that index has limitations. Unlike the conventional consumer price index in which final data from one month to the next is available in about two weeks, final data for the chained CPI isn't available until well over a year and a half. "That means preliminary estimates that are subject to error would have to be used for indexing," Johnson explains. .He gradually gained backing from more of his fellow Republicans in the Senate, often persuading them one-by-one to make shows of support since last summer. Democrats in the Senate were essential to getting the legislation even out of the Finance Committee, which approved it with the support of 13 Democrats and six Republicans in July 2019. .For details, or to see if your Members of Congress have scheduled meetings, contact their offices. You can find contact information for all Members of Congress on the ACTION CENTER of our website. For tips on which questions you should ask at your next town hall, click HERE.