News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending January 20 2017

    High Cost of Illegal Work for Social Security Trust Fund .House Democrats did not pre-negotiate terms with the GOP-Senate or the White House, so it is unlikely that the bill, called the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act will become law in its present form. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R- Ky.) has already pronounced the bill dead. But most observers believe it is the opening bid on the part of the House leaders to begin a process that will eventually lead to a fifth virus-related relief bill. .To see if your Members of Congress will be holding town hall meetings during the spring recess, click HERE or call their local offices. You can find contact information HERE. … Continued

  • Two Social Security Reforms That Seniors Strongly Support

    How much are you spending on prescription drugs? Please tell us by taking our 2019 Senior Survey. .Economic recession isn't entirely to blame for low inflation. For more than three decades the federal government has made a substantial number of changes to the methodology it uses to calculate the consumer price index, which is used to determine the COLA. "Virtually all the changes have tended to reduce the measured rate of inflation," Cates says. "Not surprisingly, many COLA recipients sometimes tell us they suspect the government is manipulating the inflation measure to cut spending on their benefits," he adds. .Congress should prohibit "surprise medical bills. Congress should require healthcare providers and insurers to accept fees no greater than 20 percent more than the Medicare approved fees as settlement. — 82 percent support, 15 percent not sure, and only 4 percent opposed. (Legislation passed in December would provide relief from surprise medical bills but stopped short of tying payments to prices paid by Medicare and Medicaid which are often lower than other rates negotiated by other insurers.) … Continued

TSCL opposes the payment of Social Security and Medicare benefits that are based on illegal work, and supports legislation that would ban Social Security work credits based on unauthorized earnings from being used to determine entitlement. .Trump Expected to Issue Executive Orders about Prescription Drugs .Impose new Medicare deductibles and impose new coverage restrictions on Medigap plans: Impose a new 0 deductible for both Medicare Part A and Part B that Medigap plans would be restricted from covering. Would also limit the co-insurance or co-pays that Medigap plans could cover to 50 percent of the next ,000 in Medicare cost-sharing. Currently plans pay most, or all, of the Medicare cost sharing. .The letter that TSCL delivered to congressional leaders this week urged lawmakers to begin immediate discussions about lifting the debt limit and preventing a default on the federal debt. Art Cooper – Chairman of TSCL's Board of Trustees – wrote: "Our supporters nation-wide hope you will act swiftly and responsibly to avert delays in Social Security benefits and payments to Medicare providers, and they will not tolerate additional cuts to their earned Social Security benefits." .On Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee held a confirmation hearing for Sylvia Mathews Burwell, President Obama's nominee for the position of HHS Secretary. Burwell was nominated back in April, shortly after Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that she would be stepping down. If confirmed, she will oversee the Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security programs, and she will also manage the continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act. .In addition, U.S. Customs may be trying to clamp down on prescription drugs being shipped to American consumers from Canadian pharmacies. Although "reimportation" of prescription drugs from abroad continues to be illegal, Customs and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials have only intermittently seized shipments of Canadian drugs in the past. Canadian mail order pharmacies and drug-buying programs run by senior advocates reported earlier this year that the number of seizures has more than quadrupled recently. .Sources: Hearing on Combating Waste, Fraud, and Abuse, Office of the Inspector General, Social Security Administration, January 24, 201"Levin, Conrad Introduce CUT Tax Loopholes Act," Senator Carl Levin, February 7, 2012. .Congress and President Obama are battling over the federal budget, but supporters in Congress aren& 8217;t about to forget Notch Babies. The Notch Fairness Act bills (H.R. 155) and (S.90) were introduced by Representative Mike McIntrye (NC-7) and Senator David Vitter (LA). They were among the first bills to be re-introduced in. TSCL Continues Working For Notch Reform TSCL has not given up our goal of Notch reform. In recent months we have been working with long-term Notch reform allies in Congress to ensure that Notch Babies& 8217;, needs are protected from deficit reduction plans that would affect people who are currently retired. .Eleven new cosponsors signed on to the Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act (S. 1123 and H.R. 2305) this week, bringing the total up to twenty in the Senate and thirty in the House. If signed into law, the comprehensive bill would take a number of steps to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse within the two programs – a problem that TSCL believes must be addressed in order to ensure that scarce program dollars are being spent properly. The new cosponsors are: Sen. John Boozman (AR), and Reps. Duncan Hunter (CA-50), Steve Stivers (OH-15), Dan Benishek (MI-1), Martha Roby (AL-2), Dennis Ross (FL-15), Thomas Rooney (FL-17), Shelley Moore Capito (WV-2), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27), Allyson Schwartz (PA-13), Earl Blumenauer (OR-3), and Edward Royce (CA-39).