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  • Category Legislative News Page 56

    Fight to End Surprise Billing is Losing Key Ally .This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for three key bills. .Chairman Johnson said: "I know that fixing Social Security will require tough choices that will affect the lives of millions of Americans. Congress has a responsibility to the American people to make these choices. And the longer we wait, the harder it gets. If we wait until the Trust Funds are exhausted, some options won't even be available anymore. We must take this responsibility seriously. Americans want, need, and deserve nothing less." … Continued

  • Congressional Corner 3

    Totalization Agreement with Mexico – Preventing an unnecessary and unspecified drain on the Social Security Trust Fund. .TSCL believes that these two provisions unfairly reduce the earned benefits of millions of seniors each year. We were pleased to see support grow for the Social Security Fairness Act this week. .Before recommending the zero premiums, I helped Paula estimate potential costs. New managed care Medicare Advantage plans differ from traditional Medicare supplements by charging co-payments that can be substantial for each hospitalization, visit to the doctor, or other service received. Supplements tend to charge high premiums, but cover most, or all, of the co-insurance costs, leaving beneficiaries to pay little or nothing when they receive a service. If Paula had to be hospitalized or developed a serious illness, the co-payments charged by the Medicare Advantage plan could quickly add up to be just as much, possibly more, than what she would pay in premiums for her state retiree Medicare supplement. … Continued

We could, alternatively, allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices — a proposal that has been raised by politicians and beaten back by industry again and again. We would then need to restrict markup for a COVID-19 vaccine for the private market. Otherwise, we would get the kinds of results emerging from the COVID testing industry, where Medicare pays 0 for the test but some labs charge insurers over ,000. .This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for three important bills that would strengthen the Social Security program and reduce prescription drug prices for Medicare Part D beneficiaries if signed into law. .The Senior Citizens League is opposed to any payroll tax cut which would remove the major portion of Medicare Part A hospital insurance funding. That's money today's beneficiaries paid into the system during their working careers, and the same funds are needed today to reimburse hospital services for today's patients. .The America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) trade group commission released a report claiming that insurance premiums would increase by 1.9 to 2.3 percent by 201The report asserts that the new fee will be passed on to consumers. Citing the annual fee on insurers mandate under the Affordable Care Act, an AHIP spokesperson predicted the increase in costs would act "just like any other sales tax." The White House disputed the claim, saying that the report was "fundamentally flawed" and ignored provisions of the law that would decrease costs. .Get free one-on-one counseling. If all this makes you want to run away screaming, but you still have questions, just call your State Health Insurance Program (SHIP). You can get free one-on-one Medicare benefits counseling that can help you check your drug plan and figure out your charges. Many of these programs operate through local area agencies on aging. You can find local contact information at this website: https://www.shiptacenter.org. .No further information about the bill is available at this point but as soon as it is TSCL will review it to determine whether we will support it. .Single — your annual income is less than ,090 (,507.50 per month) and resources less than ,820 per year. .For progress updates or for more information about these and other bills that would strengthen the Social Security program, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website or follow TSCL on Twitter. .TSCL is disappointed in the repeated attempts of lawmakers to reduce funding for the healthcare of their sickest and poorest constituents in 201TSCL urges all of you to get ready to vote this election year. Start now by checking that your voter registration is up to date, particularly if you have moved recently.