News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending April 21 2017

    Know what debt you have. Make a list of your mortgage, any home equity line of credit (HELOC), credit cards, and any other debt. Making minimum payments may keep you out of collections, but that strategy doesn't pay off debt. Prioritize your loans by the amount of interest, and whether the interest (such as for a mortgage) is tax deductible. Work out a plan to pay off the highest non-deductible interest loan first, while making the minimum payments on other loans. As you get a loan paid off, start on the next highest interest loan. .If your prescription drug costs are outgrowing your ability to pay for your medicine, look into Medicare's "Extra Help" program. The program helps pay for some, or most, of the costs of Medicare prescription drug coverage, depending on income. In addition, there's no doughnut hole coverage gap that leaves you footing the bill for a larger share of the co-insurance, there's no late enrollment penalty, and you have the chance to switch plans at any time. According to the 2018 Medicare & You Handbook, drug costs in 2018 for people who qualify will be no more than .35 for generics and .35 for brand-name drugs. .You will want to sign up for both Part A (hospital insurance) and Medicare Part B (doctor's and outpatient insurance.) Medicare Part A usually does not cost anything since the Medicare payroll taxes withheld from workers' paychecks pay for Part A. Currently the base premium for Medicare Part B (for individuals with incomes less than ,000) is 5.50 per month. Medicare will send you a bill for three months at a time. You will need 6.50 for that first bill, and please note how quickly you must send it back (usually before the end of the month you received your bill.) There are several ways to pay. If you would prefer monthly billing, you may request that, but after you send in your first payment. Carefully read the information on your monthly bill to learn what you will need to do in order to request monthly billing. … Continued

  • Category Issues Medicare Fraud Waste And Abuse Articles

    Lowering drug prices is one of the highest priorities of TSCL and we will be working very hard to get legislation passed this year. .We will keep a close eye on the evolving discussions in the months ahead, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website. .On Wednesday, Congressmen Elijah Cummings (MD-7) and Peter Welch (VT) met with President Donald Trump to discuss the state of the prescription drug industry. At the meeting, they requested President Trump's support for TSCL-backed legislation called the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act (H.R. 242, S. 41), which would require the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices on behalf of Medicare Part D beneficiaries. Currently, Medicare is prohibited from doing so despite the fact that other federal health programs are required to. … Continued

As a result of the new rule, consumers will have to pay more for their prescriptions, as a growing number of people rely on the programs offered by drug makers to lower their copays. .Background Information: Social Security beneficiaries received another record-low cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of just 0.3% this year. But if the COLA were based on a more accurate measure of inflation for seniors like the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), they would be receiving an increase of 2.1% according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Question: Do you support legislation that would give older Americans a more fair and adequate Social Security COLA? .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. .On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee held a hearing on the state of the Social Security program's information technology (IT). Lawmakers on the subcommittee heard from three expert witnesses, including Rajive Mathur, Chief Information Officer at the Social Security Administration (SSA). .Improving and maintaining access to affordable, lifesaving prescription drugs is a top concern for TSCL's supporters, most of whom live on fixed incomes and cannot afford steep and sudden cost increases. .Last year a premium support plan that passed in the House prompted a firestorm of opposition from seniors and critics concerned that the plan cut federal spending too much — shifting too great a portion of costs -- and would make Medicare unaffordable for beneficiaries. But premium support itself is nothing new, nor would it "end Medicare as we know it." To the contrary, seniors already know it, and like it. Medicare operates two premium support programs — Medicare Part D, and Medicare Advantage. .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. .Earnings are vital to the amount you receive because your wages form the basis of your Social Security benefit. SSA calculates your benefit based on your highest 35 years of earnings. When you sign up for a "my Social Security" account, the estimate will list every year of earnings on file. Count them up! Ideally you will have more than 35 years of earnings. But that may be hard for some workers to achieve, particularly those who spent time at home raising a family or providing caregiving for older family members (often women). .Although many older Americans continue to face challenges as they approach retirement, Congress can and should do more to ensure that no retiring American needs to worry about making ends meet.