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3 Ways To Lower Your Medicare Spending In 2011 2 Feed
Welcome to the month of February! This week, President Donald Trump addressed the nation in his first State of the Union, and The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) monitored negotiations at one Senate hearing. In addition, four key bills gained new cosponsors in the House and Senate. .Senate Adopts Budget Resolution .Members of Congress receive their benefits through the District of Columbia's small business health options program (SHOP) exchange that was established under the 2010 health law. Effective January 1, 2014, Members of Congress had to give up their previous health benefits received through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) and get their insurance through the exchange. However, they remain eligible for employer contributions from the federal government (i.e., U.S. taxpayers) toward coverage, just as they previously received for their FEHB coverage. … Continued
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Medicare Spends Most Of Its Money On Only 10 Of Drugs
Currently doctors are paid for every service they provide, giving a big incentive for wasteful duplication. Patients wind up getting repeated tests, X-rays, CT scans and procedures involving expensive computerized equipment. .On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed two bills – the Know the Lowest Price Act (S. 2553) and the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act (S. 2554) – into law that will protect Medicare beneficiaries and privately insured individuals from "gag clauses" at pharmacies. "Gag clauses" prevent pharmacists from telling consumers when it would be cheaper to purchase their prescriptions out-of-pocket than through their Medicare Part D or health insurance plans. .Since 2000, cost-of-living-adjustments (COLAs) increased Social Security benefits a total of just 43 percent. Meanwhile typical senior expenses have jumped 86 percent, according to TSCL's 2017 Loss of Buying Power Study. The following table illustrates ten of the fastest growing costs since 2000. … Continued
"And that's not all," says Cates. "Beneficiaries lose the compounding effect they get with higher benefits," he notes. "Even when inflation returns to more typical levels, beneficiaries' lifetime Social Security income will continue to be lower," Cates explains. .According to information from the Medicare Rights Center, a nonprofit organization that provides Medicare counseling and educational programs, when you notify a Medicare Advantage plan after the move, then your mom's Special Enrollment Period begins the month you tell her plan, plus two more full months thereafter. .The other two actions are related to eviction protections and student loan relief. .Sources: "Cost, Logistics Of Obama Immigration Plan Raise Concerns Before Launch," Doug McKelway, Fox News, February 13, 201Testimony of Eileen O'Connor, Esq., Before The Senate Committee On Homeland Security And Government Affairs, February 4, 201"How Changes In Immigration Policy Might Affect The Federal Budget," The Congressional Budget Office, January 2015. .What Happened To My Higher Retirement Benefit? .It would: boost monthly Social Security benefits by 2 percent, improve the adequacy of the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, create a new minimum benefit set at 125 percent of the poverty line, and cut taxes for millions of beneficiaries. To cover the cost of these benefit enhancements and extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Funds for decades to come, it would also apply the payroll tax to income over 0,000 and gradually increase the payroll tax rate from 6.2 percent to 7.4 percent. .This week, lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill and those in the House passed legislation that will reduce prescription drug costs at pharmacies. In addition, the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee met to discuss information technology within the Social Security program, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) saw two key bills gain support. .Six Steps to Getting Six Month's Worth of Prescriptions for the Cost of Two. Get more mileage out of your drug coverage using these tried and true methods. They'll be lifesavers for you just like the thousands of seniors who have tried them. Editors, a full article with permission to reprint is available. .When he first ran for office, candidate Trump promised he would not make any attempt to cut Social Security or Medicare while he is President. But in an interview this week with CNBC's Joe Kernan, and definitely something we will be keeping a close eye on, President Trump mentioned in a news conference that cutting entitlements (Social Security and Medicare) is not off the table.