News
-
November 2012 Pharmacy Choice
The Senior Citizens League favors legislation that would adjust the thresholds, or repeal the tax altogether and replace it with other sources of revenue. If the thresholds were adjusted to today's dollars the ,000 (single) threshold would be about ,107 and the ,000 (joint) would be about ,097. .MedPAC Delivers Report, Testimony to Congress .A number of vaccines, including those for flu and pneumonia, might be capable of improving immunity overall, according to one researcher. Scientists are looking at several other potential candidates, including vaccines against herpes viruses and tuberculosis. … Continued
-
The Government Stays Open For Now But The Debt Ceiling Looms
In addition, the Social Security 2100 Act would improve the program's solvency by applying the payroll tax to income over 0,000 and by gradually increasing the payroll tax rate from 6.2 percent to 7.4 percent – an extra fifty cents per week for the average worker. These two modest changes would ensure that the Social Security program remains solvent through the year 2100 and beyond. .Working longer, especially if you are earning more now than you did in jobs in the past, can also help increase your benefit because the Social Security Administration uses your highest 35 years of earnings to calculate your initial retirement amount. If you've worked less than 35 years, then the extra years of work will help fill in the earning gaps in your record. .Leading GOP plans impose broad spending reductions, would overhaul Medicare and cut Medicaid, while President Obama and Democrats are insisting tax increases are required, particularly on people with higher incomes over 0,000. Respondents to TSCL's Seniors Survey also tended to be more divided when asked whether they "strongly agreed" that the budget deficit should be reduced by cutting discretionary spending, or by closing tax loop holes and small revenue increases. However, when those in the middle, who "agree somewhat," are counted, a majority, 74%, agree that the budget deficit should be reduced by a fair balance of both discretionary spending cuts and modest revenue increases. … Continued
Are there any plans without an annual maximum? These plans fall into two main types, dental health maintenance organizations (DHMO), and discount dental plans. A DHMO will require you to use in network dentists, and to get referrals from your dentist when you need a specialist. You pay nothing extra when you receive preventive services that are covered by your plan premium. There are also discount dental plans that negotiate discounted rates with a network of dentists. Patients get discounts at dentist's office, but pay their dentists directly at the time of service. There is no waiting period for this type of plan. .Currently, the two vaccines available are produced by Moderna and Pfizer. However, a vaccine from Johnson and Johnson could become available within the next few days. And there could be one or two more available in a few more weeks. .The extensions will cost approximately 0 billion over ten years, and billion of that will be paid for by spending cuts and revenue increases. The remaining 0 billion, however, will be added to the budget deficit. .The Covid-19 pandemic has both heightened the urgency of reining in pharmaceutical costs yet also made it harder for lawmakers to act. Drug makers say limiting their profits could hamper efforts to create a vaccine against the virus, but medicines to treat it come with significant price tags. Gilead Sciences, Inc., set the price for its widely used Remdesivir at ,340 for a five-day treatment. .Protection of the Social Security Trust Fund – Ensuring that the program's assets are locked out of the general budget. .Seniors and Baby Boomers nearing retirement have every right to object and that doesn't make anybody greedy for doing so. After 1983, when the Social Security Trust Fund began building up reserves, our government proceeded to use all excess funds, and replaced that money with .6 trillion in special non-marketable bonds, or I.O.U.s. Seniors are frequently told those I.O.U.s are backed by the full faith of the U.S. government which has never defaulted on its debt. But now that the U.S. Treasury must borrow to pay the interest due to the I.O.U.s held by the Trust Fund, lawmakers are considering plans that would cut promised Social Security benefits. If a government default on the U.S. savings bonds held by public investors is unthinkable — why is cutting obligations to Social Security beneficiaries any less so? .What strategies are key to better managing healthcare costs in retirement? .On Tuesday, Senators on the influential Finance Committee held a hearing titled "Examining the Proposed Medicare Part B Drug Demonstration." Dr. Patrick Conway testified before the full committee on the status of the controversial demonstration program, which was proposed by CMS earlier this year and has not yet been implemented. The program will test new payment strategies for hospitals and physicians who administer prescription drugs to Medicare beneficiaries receiving outpatient care. It is a new attempt by the Obama Administration to move away from a medical system that rewards volume of care and towards one that values high-quality care. ."TSCL strongly believes that earnings under invalid SSNs should be also be invalid for entitlement to benefits," says Hyland. "Document fraud, identity theft and violation of immigration law should not be rewarded with Social Security benefits, especially as Congress considers cutting Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs)," he states. To learn more and find out how much you could lose by COLA cuts, visit http:// /chained-cola-calculator/. To learn more, visit .
