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  • Social Security Cut 20 Majority Wouldnt Able Afford Basic Essentials Says New Poll Senior Citizens League

    The FDA is particularly concerned that these deceptive and misleading products might cause Americans to delay or stop appropriate medical treatment, leading to serious and life-threatening harm. It's likely that the products do not do what they claim, and the ingredients in them could cause adverse effects and could interact with, and potentially interfere with, essential medications. .Expanded tax credits — Social Security numbers would pave the way for applicants to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Additional Child Tax credit. In a recent Senate hearing, Eileen O'Connor, who ran the Justice Department's Tax Division under George W. Bush, explained that these refundable tax credits, "can create a ‘refund' of an amount you never paid as income taxes. So you can have a liability before the credit of 0, have paid in nothing, and with a refundable earned income tax credit of ,000, get a check from Uncle Sam for 0." She went on to say that immigrants who acquire Social Security numbers would be able to amend three years of previous tax returns to claim the earned income credit. The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently reported that an estimated 24% of all refunds due to the Earned Income Tax Credit are paid improperly. .Social Security Can Be Fixed Without Benefit Cuts … Continued

  • Category Issues Medicare Part B Faqs Page 3

    In addition, Avik Roy – Co-Founder and President of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity – suggested that lawmakers focus on increased transparency in the pharmaceutical industry. He said if action is not taken reduce prescription drug prices, "the poor, vulnerable, and elderly have the most to lose." .The proposal is not new. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan supported a similar proposal in the late 1990s. In fact, it's one of a series of technical changes to the CPI recommended by the Boskin Commission in 1996 — which said that the CPI overstates inflation and that the COLA overpays seniors by about 1.1%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics busily instituted a number of those changes from 1995 through 2000 that, by my estimates, have already cut the rate of growth in the CPI and average Social Security benefits, compared to previous CPI measurement methodology by about 5 annually over the past ten years. If Congress were to adopt the chained CPI to calculate COLA starting with the COLA payable in 2012, that would additionally cut the growth in average benefits by about ,429 over the next ten years. .Super-Committee Republicans offer a 300 billion dollar tax-revenue concession. After an initial pledge not to raise taxes over the next decade, Republicans are willing to allow tax increases to help meet the 1.2 trillion dollar debt-reduction mandate by November 23rd. … Continued

On Thursday, lawmakers in the House and Senate advanced a two-week stopgap measure to keep the federal government operating past Friday, December 7th. President Trump had not yet signed it into law at the time of writing this week's legislative update, but he is expected to do so before the midnight deadline. As a result, lawmakers have an extra fourteen days to reach a deal to avoid another government shutdown on December 21st. .The pending cuts are due to a rule, the PAYGO Act, which was passed in 2010 and which corrects for additions to the federal deficit by automatically cutting funding from certain departments and programs. .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. .Since 2009, COLAs have been at record lows, averaging just 1.4% — less than half the more typical 3% that COLAs averaged in the prior decade. According to the TSCL analysis, over the last seven years, average Social Security benefits will be about 3 a month lower in 2016 than if inflation had been the more normal levels of about 3%. For example, had a married couple — retired since 2009 and receiving about ,330 per month received a more typical 3% COLA — their total Social Security income would be about ,700 more than it has actually been since 20009. .This week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the Senior Medicare Patrol – a voluntary fraud prevention effort comprised of seniors – recovered at least .1 million last year, which is up from million in 2012. .Another Broken Obamacare Promise – This One Hits Medicare .A new report has found that millions of senior Americans are missing out on over billion in benefits that help pay for healthcare, prescriptions, food, and utilities. TSCL is concerned that many Notch Babies may be missing out on these benefits that help those with limited income and resources, because they may not realize they are eligible. Many seniors struggle to pay for daily necessities like healthcare, medicine, housing, home energy and food. In addition many of these same older adults have one or more chronic health conditions like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or arthritis resulting in higher healthcare costs and limitations on daily activities. .In 2014, 218,000 mature workers indicated to the Bureau of Labor Statistics that they were discouraged by their jobs prospects. Many felt that they lacked the necessary skills or training for available jobs. We need to arm mature workers with better skills so they have the confidence to find a better job and earn a better wage. .Seventy-eight percent of older voters participating in TSCL's survey say they support raising payroll taxes, eliminating the taxable maximum wage cap so that everyone pays Social Security taxes on all earnings over 8,500. Unlike low - and middle - income wage earners, the highest earners today only pay taxes on the first 8,500 in earnings and enjoy a huge Social Security tax break on all on wages over that amount. A clear majority — 62% of survey participants — also favors very gradually increasing the payroll tax rate by 1% each for workers and employers. Taken together, both changes would provide enough financing to keep the program solvent for more than 50 years.