News
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Legislative Update Week Ending February 27 2015
To shop and switch to a new Medicare Advantage health plan, visit www.Medicare.gov and click on the link to "Find health and drug plans." View the videos supplied to help you learn how to use the tool. If you feel you need more help, free one-on-one counseling is available through State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIP) that operate through many local area agencies on aging. To find the agency in your area, try the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-111To learn more about Medicare, visit MedicareInteractive.org, an online tool that can answer your Medicare questions, created and maintained by the Medicare Rights Center. .Drug Executives Refuse to meet with Trump .The Senior Citizens League believes Congress can prevent the triggering of the Social Security hold harmless provision and eliminate spiking Medicare premiums entirely by providing an adequate COLA. This includes providing an emergency COLA or boost for 2021. … Continued
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Congressional Corner Two Social Security Provisions That Need To Be Fixed
In addition, TSCL encourages its members and supporters to vote on election day, which is next week, on November 8th. To best be prepared, check out our list of election day resources right HERE. To see if your Members of Congress will be holding town hall meetings in the days ahead, call their local offices. You can find contact information HERE. For more sample town hall questions, click HERE. .The estimate of the COLA is updated every month, with the release of new CPI data, so our COLA estimates can change from month to month during the year. Based on the data through August we estimate that the 2022 COLA will be 6% to 6.1%. The actual COLA for 2022 will be announced October 13, 2021. .As for job hunting tips, my book has a chapter called "Six Rules for Job Hunting." I discuss how to package yourself as the solution to an employer's problems, how to keep your skill set fresh and relevant, 21st Century networking techniques, and several other key strategies. … Continued
Under the hospital price transparency rule, some 6,000 U.S. hospitals will have to publicly provide their negotiated rates with insurers for 300 common medical services, along with the discounted cash price they're willing to accept for those procedures. .Use call block technology. If you have a smart phone, you can block calls from unknown numbers. Some land line phones also have similar technology. .Each state operates their own LIHEAP program and has different rules about when to apply, how to apply, and the criteria to be met in order to get help. Although income requirements vary by location household incomes must be less than: .TSCL strongly supports legislation that would provide 70 million Americans with a one-time emergency COLA payment of 3.9% (0). The Seniors and Veterans Emergency (SAVE) Benefits Act (S.2251) was introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren, and a companion bill was introduced in the House by Representative Alan Grayson, H.R. 4012. .Those receiving work authorization become vested for benefits with as little as ten years of earnings. The oldest of those who are eligible for the deferred action could potentially have worked illegally long enough to be "vested," or nearly so, for Social Security already — including disability benefits. Once illegal workers gain a work-authorized Social Security number, individuals who have evidence of earnings, even for jobs worked under invalid Social Security numbers, may claim and reinstate those earnings under their own number. The earnings are then later used to determine Social Security benefits. .For years, the age at which an individual could receive full, unreduced Social Security benefits was 6Since the passage of the 1983 amendments to the Social Security Act, the age has increased very gradually. The current full retirement age is 66 and it is slowly rising to 67 for people born after 195Benefits can be claimed as early as 62; however, doing so will result in a reduced benefit. For example, if someone was born in 1945 and claimed benefits at 62, their benefits were reduced by 25%. If someone who is born after 1959 collects benefits at 62, their benefits will be reduced by 30%. Some economists have proposed increasing the early retirement age, currently age 62, as well as the full retirement age. .So, what should those who have received the Covid-19 vaccines do now? .This legislation will also create "Social Security Administration Senior Centers" as pilot projects in 10 SSA field offices that will work to streamline the application and delivery processes of federal, state and local programs that serve low-income elderly or disabled individuals. .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.
