News

  • Weak Support Among Older Americans For Medicare For All More Support For A Medicare Buy In

    This week, the 115th Congress convened and lawmakers in the Senate took the first steps towards a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. .TSCL's legislative team will be monitoring the tax reform discussions closely in the coming days and weeks, and we will post updates here in the Legislative News section of our website, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. In the meantime, we encourage our supporters to contact their Members of Congress to request their opposition to tax reform measures that will jeopardize the health and financial security of older Americans. For contact information, click HERE. .To address this issue, my office put together a two-pronged approach both locally and nationally. First, we held a resources fair in South Los Angeles, focusing on identifying and combatting senior scams with service providers that offered direct assistance for attendees. Second, I introduced a bipartisan resolution to call attention to the barrage of fraud attempts that seniors face nationwide. … Continued

  • 2015 F Q Executive Action Immigration Social Security Medicare 2

    The jury is still out on value-based health systems, and whether they can save any significant amount of money remains to be seen. The Congressional Budget Office issued a recent report outlining a number of issues and unintended consequences such as providing an incentive for providers to improve their "quality rankings" by avoiding sicker patients. Critics say that the system places a new burden on primary care doctors that would potentially punish providers financially for patients' bad health habits and behaviors. .The authors of the study concluded that unless the overall trend stabilizes or is reversed, or high cost-to-claim drugs are addressed, this trend will place an increasing burden on the neurologic Medicare budget. .This week, lawmakers in the Senate held confirmation hearings to question Congressman Tom Price (GA-6) and Congressman Mick Mulvaney (SC-5), who have been nominated by President Donald Trump to fill important positions in the administration. … Continued

The main bill in the Senate regarding prescription drug prices is one that is authored by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). After Trump issued his executive orders, Sen. Grassley said he plans to use the time until the executive orders go into effect to build support for his own prescription drug package which, as we said above, has stalled in the Senate. .This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for three key bills that would improve the Social Security and Medicare programs if adopted. .The process involves more than just an application. If you qualify you would also need to select a drug plan. You can apply for Extra Help anytime. Visit socialsecurity.gov/i1020 to apply online. Call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213. .Your daughter is giving you good advice. It is time to sign up for Medicare. If you are still working, and you aren't yet getting Social Security, then you won't get Medicare automatically, and you need to apply by your Initial Enrollment deadline. It's important to pay attention to Medicare's enrollment deadlines in order to avoid permanent late enrollment penalties or a lapse in your health insurance coverage, but there is excellent free unbiased help available to steer you through this, as near as your local agency on aging or senior center. .Can You Live On Social Security Alone? .In addition, the AHCA would repeal a tax created by the ACA that serves as a critical funding stream for Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. Cutting the tax would accelerate the insolvency of the Medicare Part A Trust Fund, and in a matter of a few years, it would become exhausted. In a Washington Post opinion piece, former Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Andy Slavitt wrote, "That's clearly no accident: The program would wind up right where ‘entitlement hawks' such as House Speaker Paul D Ryan (R-Wis.) want it – in crisis. If this bill became law, the speaker would finally be positioned to change Medicare to a voucher program." .TSCL agrees that improvements must be made to ensure that older Americans are better informed about their benefit claiming options, and we are hopeful that SSA will carefully consider the proposals made at Wednesday's hearing. In addition, TSCL hopes that Congress will appropriate adequate funding to SSA in the months ahead so that field offices around the country can provide the highest quality service possible to individuals nearing and in retirement. For progress updates, follow TSCL's advocacy efforts on Twitter. .Among the bills that make up the GOP plan is one that would establish congressional review boards to examine the long-term solvency of the three trust funds, a topic that long has been politically fraught. .To learn more and to participate in TSCL surveys and polls, visit .