News

  • Social Security Medicare Questions March 2015

    One-out-of-five people who participated in TSCL Senior Survey spend more than 0.00 per month out-of-pocket on prescription drugs. That's an enormous amount, considering the average Social Security benefit is just ,460.00 per month. But even if you only take generics, or your Medicare drug or health plan premium goes down, this does not mean that your 2020 Medicare plan's drug coverage costs will also decrease. Your Medicare drug plan's prescription coverage – including which drugs are covered by your plan, and the cost, usually changes every year. .At the same time, new claims for Social Security benefits are growing, as many older workers who have lost jobs file for Social Security benefits earlier than planned. The combined impact increases pressure on Social Security to address solvency issues. A future solvency option supported by more than 72 percent of The Senior Citizens League's survey participants is to apply the Social Security payroll tax to all earnings, instead of just the first 7,700 in wages. The survey was conducted from mid - January through April of this year. . Basing a decision on amenities and features. Just because the facility markets itself like a five - star hotel or is located near a great golf course does not equate to five - star standards of care. Look around and get a feel for the number of staff to residents. Try to meet a few residents. Are they happy? Does the staff look like they get satisfaction from their work? The office of your local Long Term Care Ombudsman can tell you about documented issues and problems that facilities have had in the past. … Continued

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending May 17 2013

    While a drop in inflation should mean that people don't have to spend as much money due to higher prices, that hasn't been the case for older households, according to a survey by TSCL. The majority of survey participants, 72 percent, reported that their household budgets had gone up per month during 2015 even though the CPI-W in 2015 indicated that no COLA (for 2016) was payable. .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. .If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. … Continued

That said, the SSDI program paid .2 billion in benefits to ineligible people in FY2012 according to the Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General. And skyrocketing enrollment is putting added financial strains on the program. Both the Social Security Trustees and the Congressional Budget Office have recently forecast that the SSDI trust fund will become fully depleted in three years. When that occurs, program revenues will only be sufficient to pay about 80% of benefits. Unless Congress takes action, severely disabled beneficiaries would face benefit cuts of 20%. .The Congressional Budget Office estimates that H.R. 3, Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, prescription drug price negotiation legislation which is under debate in the House could lower government spending on Part D by 6 billion over a ten year period, but cautioned the estimates are uncertain, especially if price negotiations are implemented differently that the CBO's interpretation. .In response to the proposed changes, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA-12) said, "With their latest budget proposal, House Republicans have made their values very clear: strengthen the special interests, abandon seniors and hard-working families." TSCL agrees that adopting a premium-support model for the Medicare program would be a step in the wrong direction, and we oppose the Budget Committee's efforts to include it in next year's resolution. In the weeks and months ahead, we will continue to advocate against plans to privatize the Medicare program. .The announcement comes as the Super-Committee members consider how much savings should come from tax cuts versus spending cuts. If the committee cannot come to an agreement by the November 23rd deadline, across-the-board budget cuts will occur. .The second session of the 113th Congress is nearing its end, and The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) is pleased to report that 2014 has been a year to remember. Over the past few months, TSCL has hand-delivered hundreds of thousands of petitions to Members of Congress, urging them to support critical legislation like the CPI-E Act, the Notch Fairness Act, and the Strengthening Social Security Act. In the weeks leading up to the November elections, we sent out thousands of emails to members and supporters in an effort to help them get to know TSCL's long-time friends in Congress. .More than 42.4% of people 65 and older had incomes below 200% of poverty under the Supplemental Poverty Measure, compared to 30.4% under the official measure. .One widely-discussed proposal would limit the drop in benefits when a spouse dies to 75% of the couple's combined benefit. In the example above that would boost the widow's benefit by 0 per month to ,800. .Thus beneficiaries will continue to be hit with steep costs when they fall into the coverage gap in the foreseeable future. To keep prices as low as possible in the doughnut hole, beneficiaries can look into using mail-order pharmacies, which require 90-day prescriptions and are often cheaper per dose than a 30-day supply. People with limited incomes may also qualify for Extra Help or other pharmaceutical assistance programs. TSCL also recommends that Part D beneficiaries talk to their doctors at each visit to discuss potential alternatives to their high-cost prescriptions. .What is the range of the Notch years?