News

  • Ask The Advisor September 2013

    The Super Committee deadline looms and two important bills for seniors are introduced. .According to the results, TSCL's members and supporters would prefer to see a more permanent solution. Forty-eight percent of respondents said the DI program should tighten its eligibility requirements and conduct more continuing disability reviews to reduce fraud, and 51 percent said high wage earners should be required to pay Social Security taxes on all of their incomes. .Originally, Members of Congress planned to quickly debate and approve the CR last week so that they could turn their focus towards the November 4th elections. However, President Obama made a last-minute request to authorize extra military funding for the training of rebels in Syria, and the discussion grew complicated. After much discussion behind closed doors, leaders in the House and Senate agreed to attach an amendment to the CR to provide the military with the necessary funds to complete the training mission. … Continued

  • Benefit Bulletin September 2021

    A new online survey by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) finds that older Americans overwhelmingly want Congress to take action to lower the cost of prescription drugs by reducing Medicare Part D's out-of-pocket spending requirements. Fifty-six percent of participants in the survey indicate that they spend more than 2 a year on prescription drugs. About one-out-of-five retirees spends more than 0 per month on prescription medications. .Several subcommittee members at Thursday's hearing spoke about the importance of stable and reliable funding for the administration in the coming years so that it can continue its efforts to modernize the program's IT system. The Senior Citizens League agrees that adequate administrative funding is critical, and we will continue to advocate for the Social Security Administration Fairness Act (S. 6251, H.R. 3147) in the months ahead. That bill, if adopted, would set SSA's funding level at 1.5 percent of overall benefit payments, and it would implement a moratorium on field office closures so that beneficiaries receive the service they have earned and deserve. .At a seven-hour Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano praised the Gang of Eight for their comprehensive plan, while members of the committee picked it apart and discussed potential amendments. Secretary Napolitano called the plan "realistic" and "achievable" and she said the department would be ready to implement border security provisions within the outlined timeframe. However, committee members seemed wary, and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (IA) said: "This bill would put no pressure on this secretary or any future secretary to secure the borders." … Continued

The president might also hurt himself on the campaign trail. Linking prices paid by Medicare to an international index that includes countries with nationalized or government-run health-care systems would undercut one of Trump's favorite criticisms of Democratic proposals: they represent "socialism." .(Washington, DC) – Medicare doesn't have the authority to negotiate drug prices, leaving millions of older Americans at risk of price gouging for their prescription drugs, according to a new comparison of drug plans by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). "Because Medicare isn't negotiating on our behalf, there's no consistency in drug pricing among drug plans," states TSCL's Medicare policy analyst, Mary Johnson, who performed the comparisons using the Medicare website's Drug Plan Finder. Costs vary enormously between plans. "The disparity in pricing for the same drug can be in the hundreds of dollars," says Johnson. .Ensure that rebates drug makers now pay to benefit managers and insurers get passed directly to patients when they buy a medication. The White House last year withdrew an earlier version of the proposal, after the Congressional Budget Office estimated it would cost taxpayers 7 billion over 10 years. .This week, House Republicans revived the AHCA after lawmakers affiliated with the Freedom Caucus endorsed a new version of it. A new amendment put forth by Congressman Tom MacArthur (NJ-3) would allow states to opt out of the ACA's essential health benefits mandate and allow them to do away with a provision that prevents insurers from charging sick individuals more for their coverage. .While many seniors rely on Social Security for nearly all their retirement income, for others it is part but not all their retirement. Those seniors have investments they rely on to generate the income they need in their retirement years. .That has never been truer than in this Congress. In trying to craft the new legislation to improve Medicare benefits and lower drug prices, it turns out it's not just Democrat vs. Republican, it's also Senate vs. House, Democrat vs. Democrat, and to a lesser extent, Republican vs. Republican. .Now, allergy season has arrived and in the United States as many as 30 percent of adults and 40 percent of kids have seasonal allergies. .The first is H.R. 446, the Protecting Seniors from Emergency Scams Act. .Congressman Bill Pascrell (D- N.J.) was very blunt when he said that all the talk about fixing Social Security is just platitudes. While both sides of the aisle know it needs to be fixed and say they want to fix it, nothing is really being done.