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  • Medicare Now Covers Testing For Coronavirus

    In addition, next week lawmakers will continue working on a spending package that will fund the federal government past December 9th. Negotiations have already begun to pass a continuing resolution (CR) that will provide short-term funding through January 201However, if those in the House and Senate fail to reach a compromise before the looming deadline, the government will shut down like it did in 2013 and Social Security beneficiaries could see negative impacts. .These higher Medicare Part B premiums, in turn, contributed to ongoing flat growth in Social Security benefits in subsequent years — even when a 2 percent COLA became payable two years later in 201The Medicare Part B premium took the entire 2 percent COLA of about half of all beneficiaries — the half with lower benefits. Many beneficiaries did not see any growth in their net Social Security benefits until they received a 2.8% COLA in 2019. .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. … Continued

  • Legislative Update Week Ending January 13 2017

    Early Efforts to Hold Congress to Its Promise Leads to a Notch Commission .Essential Drugs Need to be made in the U.S. .Need more help? Free one-on-one counseling is available through State Health Insurance Programs (SHIP). To get contact info for your area visit http://shiptacenter.org. … Continued

Most Americans contribute 6.2 percent of every paycheck to Social Security, but due to the taxable maximum wage cap, people earning more than 8,500 pay nothing over that amount. Do you support increasing or eliminating the taxable maximum wage limit to make the program more solvent? .Under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, private and public sector large employers are responsible for providing health insurance for employees and contributing toward the cost of insurance. Generally, the federal health insurance exchange is only available for people who can't otherwise afford to purchase the insurance offered by their employer (according to thresholds set by law). But the fight to pass the 2010 Affordable Care Act was so contentious and controversial that some Members of Congress insisted that their colleagues set an example and be required to have the same coverage as all other Americans. .As your mom moves through stages of Alzheimer's, she will need more care over time. The medicines used to treat Alzheimer's only control symptoms, such as memory loss and confusion, but cannot cure the disease. The symptoms inevitably will get worse and because of this, eventually your mom will need more help than you can supply at home. .What is the ,000 Lump-Sum Settlement? .In addition, we will be urging lawmakers to adopt legislation that would result in more fair and accurate COLAs in the future. Several bills before Congress would accomplish this, including the CPI-E Act (H.R. 3351), the Guaranteed 3% COLA Act (H.R. 3588), the Social Security 2100 Act (S. 1904, H.R. 1391), and the Social Security Expansion Act (S. 731). TSCL believes each of these bills would go a long way in ensuring the retirement security seniors have earned and deserve. .On Thursday, TSCL delivered letters to several congressional offices – including the offices of lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee – requesting support for three tax-related changes that would strengthen the Social Security program: .Part B — Seniors with incomes of less than ,000 a year pay a base monthly premium of 5.40, in 2011, which would be automatically deducted from your Social Security benefit. Since 2000, Part B premiums have increased about 154%. .Allow states, wholesalers, and pharmacies to import FDA-approved drugs from foreign countries and sell them in the U.S. Trump has long complained that countries where the government sets the price of drugs are taking advantage of American consumers. The order includes a special provision to allow wholesalers and pharmacies to re-import insulin and biological drugs. .Early this week, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Social Security Administration released a 10-year study that found nearly billion in overpayments to around 4 million enrollees in the Disability Insurance program. Approximately 45 percent of all disabled beneficiaries have been overpaid in the past decade, the report's authors concluded.