News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending November 2 2018

    Is there an information number for the Veterans Administration? .Recently we learned of a woman, now in her 80's, who has moved twice in the past decade to be close to her daughter. Her first move was from the family home in Connecticut to an up-scale retirement community in Virginia, and more recently following her daughter to Arizona after her son-in-law's job changed. Her former Virginia home has been sitting on the market for months. That's posing a drain on her resources, adding unanticipated costs for new housing at a time when her need for caregiving services is growing. Her daughter worried that the former facility wasn't handling things well. .WWII Vets Break Through Shutdown Barriers … Continued

  • Free Special Issue

    In making the 1977 changes, Congress, wanting to avoid an abrupt change, allowed persons born from 1917 through 1921 to use a special transitional benefit formula or the new 1977 formula, whichever would yield the higher of the two benefits. The transition benefit formula never delivered the promised benefit protection, however, because it did not yield a higher benefit amount. Instead, the new benefit formula most often yielded the higher amount. .The new study takes a closer look at the Social Security "hold harmless" provision. Typically, Social Security benefits tend to grow slightly each year as COLAs compound over time. But when the Medicare premium increases more than an individual's COLA that can trigger this special provision of law. Hold harmless protects Social Security benefits when the dollar amount of an individual's annual COLA increase is not sufficient to cover the increase in the Medicare Part B premium increase. If the increase in Medicare Part B premium would cause an individual's net Social Security benefit to be less than it was the year before, then the Part B premium is reduced to ensure the individual's Social Security benefit does not decline. .TSCL Delivers Hundreds Of Thousands Of Petitions … Continued

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. .The diagnostics are designed to pick up signs that the human immune system has successfully fought the novel infection, a step many scientists believe will confer some measure of immunity. The AMA said given the uncertainties surrounding the tests -- including about their accuracy -- medical and safety decisions should not be made based on those assumptions. .Two bills that would provide for coverage of dental services under the Medicare program were introduced in Congress last week. H.R.502, authored by Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan (D-Calif.) has been introduced in the House of Representatives, while S.97, authored by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) has been introduced in the Senate. .Millions of other public servants find themselves in similar situations, often too late to do much about it. To reconcile this inequity, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) enthusiastically supports the Social Security Fairness Act (S. 896 and H.R. 1795), a bill that would repeal both provisions and grant public servants the retirement security they deserve. The bill was introduced by Senator Mark Begich (AK) in the Senate, and by Rep. Rodney Davis (IL-13) in the House. So far, it has gained significant traction in both chambers. In the House, it recently reached one hundred co-sponsors, and in the Senate, nearly twenty lawmakers have signed on in support of it. .Put your mother's apartment on the market and work to sell it. This means giving it a thorough cleaning, a fresh coat of paint if needed, and minor repairs. .(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.) .Johnson conducts research on the growth of the prices of goods and services that form a major part of a retirees' household budgets. According to Johnson, Medicare beneficiaries' out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs was a total cost of ,097 in 2020 (including what beneficiaries and their drug plans pay). "Although drug plans vary, under the standard Part D benefit, the beneficiary is responsible for about 25% of that amount, and drug plans cover the remaining 75% up to an initial coverage limit which is ,130 in 2021," Johnson says. .Candidates campaign for office saying they don't support cutting Social Security benefits of current retirees, or those close to retirement. Yet the two recently - enacted changes went into effect almost immediately after passage. People who are under the age of 66 by the end of April 2016 may no longer use file and suspend, and those who were under the age of 62 by the end of 2015 will no longer be able to use restricted applications for spousal benefits. .My Mom Is Applying For Assisted Living: Why Must She Agree To Mandatory Arbitration?