News

  • Notch Bulletin February 2011

    The fact is no one can know ahead of time what healthcare will be needed in the future, let alone the actual costs of the services that providers charge. Doctors frequently refer patients to expensive specialists, and order endless expensive tests without spending adequate time to explain why the tests are necessary, how much they cost, or the chances of improving treatments through their use. .The battle between spending cuts versus revenue increases continues to be the largest point of contention between the two sides. Democrats are pushing a one-to-one ratio, contending that Congress has already outlined enough spending cuts in the debt limit increase law. If the Super Committee cannot come to a compromise by the deadline, mandated across-the-board budget cuts will occur. .For more information about legislation that would strengthen the Social Security and Medicare programs, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. For frequent updates from TSCL on Capitol Hill and to view photos from this week, follow us on Twitter. … Continued

  • Legislative Update August 2014

    "That estimate tracks closely with the CPI data through August," Johnson says. "Overall inflation readings are very low, but that's almost entirely due to the dramatic drop in oil prices again this year," she notes. Meanwhile, the data show some big jumps in the cost of goods and services that older and disabled Americans use the most. But that won't necessarily translate into higher COLAs, because the index used to calculate the annual Social Security boost is based on the spending patterns of younger working adults. Younger people tend to spend less on health care and housing, and more on gasoline and electronics, two categories that have gone down in recent years. .Often, the most consequential decisions are those we make only once or twice in a lifetime. But decision – making itself is a skill that takes practice. That means we can get better at it. Even with practice though, it's almost impossible to forecast whether our decisions will work out. Often there are hidden factors at play, influencing our decisions, of which we may not even be aware. Learning about how our minds could be sabotaged, and how we could be nudged in wrong direction, can help us improve our decisions. One of these nudges is called the "anchor effect." .Can You Tell Me How Recent Law Changes Affect RMDs From My 401(k)? … Continued

Because of the strong push on the part of the President and members of Congress to find a way to lower drug prices, and getting drugs from other countries where the cost is lower has become popular as a solution, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released a proposal to let states submit drug importation plans for federal approval. .TSCL is hopeful that Congress will pass these commonsense solutions as soon as possible to restore the solvency of the Social Security and Medicare programs. For more information on legislation that would strengthen these programs, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. .Officials in Canada said at that time that this would not be an effective approach to reducing drug prices in the U.S. since the Canadian market is small, representing only 2% of global pharmaceutical sales, compared to 44% south of the border. .And the American government has no effective way to fight back. .The "grandparent scam" has been around for a while, where a scammer poses as a relative, often a grandchild, in a desperate situation in urgent need of money. Due to the economic crisis created by the pandemic, the Federal Communications Commission has worked to raise the awareness of the grandparent scam. .But this doesn't necessarily mean that the rising Part B premium would reduce an individual's net Social Security benefits next year. Due to a special provision of law known as the Social Security "hold harmless" provision, the Medicare Part B premium is adjusted to prevent an overall reduction in Social Security benefits from December of the previous year. The provision only applies to about 70% of all Medicare beneficiaries, however, and does not protect people whose overall income is so low that their Medicare Part B premium is paid by state Medicaid programs, and individuals with incomes above ,000 or married couples with incomes above 5,000. .What do you think? Take TSCL's 2014 Senior Survey. .Without changes, SSDI will only take in enough revenues to pay 80% of scheduled benefits by 201TSCL believes that suspected fraud is compounding the crisis in the disability program, and that Congress should cut fraud — not benefits of those who are truly in need. TSCL supports measures that would provide stiffer penalties for disability fraud, make eligibility criteria more objective and measurable, and step up reviews to determine whether people currently on the rolls remain entitled to benefits. .Congress has a number of options to pay for the higher benefits that drew strong support in our 2020 Senior Survey: