News

  • Legislative Update Week Ending September 28 2018

    In addition, three 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-four in the Senate and thirty-four 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. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH-1), and Rep. Jackie Speier (CA-14). .According to the FDA, "Complementary and Alternative Medicine" encompass a wide array of health care practices, products, and therapies that are distinct from conventional medicine. Examples include botanical and animal-derived extracts, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and proteins, just to name a few. In addition there would be new regulations of medical devices used by alternate medicine practitioners like chiropractors, massage and acupuncture therapists. .To cover the cost of CPI-E Act's adoption and to improve the solvency of the Social Security program, The Senior Citizens League supports an increase in the payroll tax cap. Nearly 75 percent of our supporters agree that the wealthiest Americans must begin contributing to the program more fairly, based on the results of our 2018 Senior Survey. Several bills now before Congress would increase or eliminate the payroll tax cap, and The Senior Citizens League will continue to advocate for their passage tirelessly in the months ahead. … Continued

  • S 500 Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act

    Last year was a busy and successful one for The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). Three major legislative efforts that had our support were effectively tackled by lawmakers in Congress and signed into law by President Obama. .I'm still working and will turn 65 in July of this year. I currently get my health insurance through my employer. We have more than 20 employees and I've been told I can keep my employer's health insurance instead of starting Medicare in July. The health insurance that I have now is pretty expensive and the deductibles are high. How can I compare the costs between the two types of insurance? .What happens when Congress waits too long to address a Social Security funding crisis? Deeper benefit cuts, sudden tax increases, and glitches in the implementation of reforms that can lead to significant benefit inequities between people close to each other in age. Consider the case of the Social. Benefit Bulletin: June 2013 What Caused The Social Security Notch? … Continued

This week, House Republicans revived the AHCA after lawmakers affiliated with the Freedom Caucus endorsed a new version of it. A new amendment put forth by Congressman Tom MacArthur (NJ-3) would allow states to opt out of the ACA's essential health benefits mandate and allow them to do away with a provision that prevents insurers from charging sick individuals more for their coverage. .Although it hasn't been introduced as legislation yet, some specifics were outlined in a fact sheet released by the group. Under the plan, the government would pay for three-quarters of the cost of the average plan, and for the most expensive enrollees, it would pay ninety percent of the cost. Wealthy seniors would pay a larger share of the cost, and low-income seniors would receive assistance from Medicaid. In addition, the age of eligibility would increase by three months each year, until it hits seventy in 2034. .Two Bills Gain New Cosponsors .The new scams were quick to arise, and deft in their effectiveness. For example, in March of last year, the Social Security Administration posted an alert about a scam claiming that economic impact stimulus payments may be suspended or decreased due to office closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a lie. .This week, lawmakers in the House adjourned for a week-long recess, while those in the Senate heard from Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who was recently nominated by President Obama to serve as the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Meanwhile, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) saw . .However, MA insurers have already begun taking steps to reduce their costs in order to account for the cuts from CMS. As was noted in last week's legislative update, UnitedHealth – one of the largest MA plan providers – has dropped thousands of doctors from its networks, leaving many seniors doctor-less. It expects its physician network to be 85 percent of its pre-Obamacare size by the end of this year. TSCL is concerned that additional cuts to MA in 2015 will harm beneficiaries in other ways, by driving up premiums and reducing benefits. .The report's release coincided with two days of high-level White House negotiations that President Obama recently held with Senate Democratic and Republican leaders over reducing the federal deficit, ahead of the pressing debt limit deadline. The attractiveness of the proposal is not only the aforementioned enormous savings to the federal government, but the ingenious political cover. The change appears miniscule, the savings to the government low at first, and it's so complicated nobody except a government economist would even claim to understand it. .This week, The Senior Citizens League released its final estimate for the 2019 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), and four key bills gained support in Congress. .The FDA is working with vaccine and drug manufacturers to develop new vaccines for and find more drugs to treat COVID-19 as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, some people and companies are trying to profit from this pandemic by selling unproven and illegally marketed products that make false claims, such as being effective against the coronavirus.