News

  • Category Tips For Seniors Page 7

    — are relatively young and, .(Washington, DC) – The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) is calling on Congressional leadership to lift the federal budget debt ceiling and prevent a default on the federal debt — including the debt held by the Social Security Trust Fund. "Congressional inaction on the debt ceiling is a growing concern, " said TSCL in a letter to House and Senate budget leaders. "In prior debates to lift the debt ceiling, Social Security benefits have been used as a bargaining chip, and retirees have seen unexpected benefit cuts," the letter states. .In 1977, Social Security was close to bankruptcy. Legislation enacted in 1977 changed the way benefits were calculated, beginning with retirees who were born in 1917 and who first became eligible for benefits in 197The changes were major, and the transition between the old and new method of calculating benefits not only took place over a very short period of time, it did not work as anticipated. … Continued

  • Legislative Update October 2011 Advisor

    That estimate is based on consumer price index (CPI) data through August, but it could significantly change with the September CPI data. Estimating the COLA this year has been far more challenging than in previous years due to the impact of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which are affecting the prices of gasoline, food, housing and other costs. "We've got a hurricane wild card this year," Johnson says. "When the COLA is announced in October 13th, my 1.8 percent estimate could be off the mark," she says. "This is especially so when you take a look at what happened after Hurricane Katrina in 2005," Johnson notes. .Both chambers of Congress adjourned for the President's Day Holiday this week and are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Monday, February 25th. Meanwhile, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, former co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, released a new proposal that would avert the looming sequester and trim .4 trillion from the deficit. In addition, two Members of Congress re-introduced a critical bill that would extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund without cutting benefits. .Downsizing doctor networks is one way that Medicare Advantage insurers are dealing with the sizable cuts. Some insurers have also begun to increase premiums and out-of-pocket costs that enrollees pay. Austin Pittman, President of UnitedHealth, told the Wall Street Journal: "It's no secret that we are under substantial funding pressure from the federal government … That's what's driving our actions." … Continued

This week, one House Subcommittee approved a draft Medicare physician payment reform bill. In addition, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) announced its support for legislation introduced by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46), and four key bills gained new cosponsors. .More than 50% of older households surveyed by the National Institute on Aging say that they have at least one adult child living within 10 miles. But retirement housing and care plans can go awry when an adult child needs to relocate — most often because of a job. .Unlike AARP, The Senior Citizens League is a true grassroots organization. Almost one hundred percent of our revenue comes from individual donations, and we do not sell any products to our members. We even refuse outside advertising in our materials. Our sole focus is on education and protection of the Social Security and Medicare benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. .What Do We Do Now? My Husband Lost His Job And Our Healthcare Coverage .Not necessarily. According to a new audit report by the Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General, more than 26,000 beneficiaries receiving spousal benefits may be eligible for a higher retirement benefit based on their own earnings, but are not receiving them. Although the Social Security Administration sends notices to widows and widowers who may be eligible for a higher retirement benefit based on their own earnings at full retirement age, and age 70, it does not provide similar notices to spouses who may also be eligible for higher retirement benefits based on their own earnings. .This year's study found a 3 percentage point gain in the buying power of Social Security benefits from January 2019 to January 2020. That should indicate that most retirees may have seen at least some prices go down on certain items during that period. But this is deflation — which is a strong signal that there may be no COLA next year. This year's 1.6 percent COLA was already low to begin with. A recent deep plunge in oil prices have all but wiped out the prospect of a COLA. .TSCL enthusiastically supports H.R. 2745 and H.R. 2305, and we were pleased to see support grow for both of them this week. .Our next issue of interest this week is Surprise Billing. Surprise billing does not affect seniors on Medicare as much as it affects seniors under age 65 who still have health insurance through their employer or who are paying for their own health insurance. Surprise billing usually refers to expensive, unexpected medical bills that patients receive from hospitals and doctors' offices even when they have health insurance that they expect will cover the majority of treatments cost. Congress has been getting an earful from voters who are very upset about this situation and there seemed to be a fair amount of optimism that legislation dealing with surprise billing may be able to pass. If it does, there could be an effort to attach legislation dealing with drug prices to that bill. .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.