News

  • Government Turns Over Copy Of Totalization Agreement With Mexico

    TSCL has been concerned that the coronavirus pandemic could accelerate the impending insolvency of the Medicare Trust Fund. With record numbers of Americans out of work, fewer payroll taxes are coming in to fund Medicare spending. At the same time, the number of beneficiaries is rising and, earlier this year, Congress accessed Medicare's reserves to fund COVID-19 relief efforts. .Under current law, the Medicare program is prohibited from negotiating prices with pharmaceutical companies despite the fact that other federal health programs are required to do so. As a result, older Americans enrolled in Part D often pay much higher prices than other American consumers for their prescription drugs. If adopted, this bill would lead to billions of dollars in savings for the Medicare program, and it would immediately reduce prescription drug prices for Medicare Part D beneficiaries. .Joint filers in households where both spouses work or where one or both spouses have more than one job. … Continued

  • Notch Bulletin November 2010 Advisor Feed

    Cutting the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) by switching to a more slowly rising measure of inflation – the "chained" Consumer Price Index (CPI) – is currently one of the most popular deficit reduction proposals on the table. Backed by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle – including President Obama – proponents are calling it a small "technical correction." But "chaining" the COLA would compound over the course of a retirement and, after ten years, it would amount to an per month benefit cut for the average retired married couple – an amount that most seniors simply cannot afford to lose. .Financial Management, Challenges in Meeting Requirements of the Improper Payments Information Act, GAO-05-417, March 200"Annual Statistical Survey 2004, Social Security Administration, Table 5.A.1. .Rather than get into all the details of how this works, we will simplify it this way. The Democrats now have the majority in the Senate because Vice President Harris can break tie votes, giving a majority vote of 51 to the Democrats. … Continued

In a January 2017 survey of The Senior Citizens League's members and supporters, 34 percent said they itemize deductions for out-of-pocket healthcare costs most years. One member of The Senior Citizens League – William P. from California – recently contacted us to share his concerns about the elimination of the medical expense deduction. William is home-bound due to several medical conditions, and he relies on home health aides to provide him with lifesaving care on a daily basis. At the age of 61, William is not yet eligible for Medicare and he expects the out-of-pocket cost of his care to total ,000 by the end of this year. The elimination of the medical expense deduction would be a major financial loss for him. .The federal government shutdown that occurred from midnight December 22, 2018, until January 25, 2019, was the longest in U.S. history. It was so disruptive that an analysis from Standard and Poor's (S & P) estimated that the shut down cost the U.S. economy .6 billion. While the government shutdown was terrible for all affected, failing to raise the U.S. debt limit, also called the debt ceiling, could make the recent shut down look like a tea party. .The 2017 COLA will likely be 0.3 percent says Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst and researcher for TSCL. "And there's a chance that lower gas prices will drag the COLA down even further, to 0.2 percent," Johnson adds. Either way, the 2017 COLA is expected to raise Social Security benefits by only a few dollars, and any increase will be completely offset by stiff increases in the Medicare Part B premium for most people 65 and over. .Sources: 0.3% COLA Announced, The Social Security Administration, October 19, 201"Long Term Impact of Low COLA Growth," Mary Johnson, TSCL, August 31, 2016. .Home care, though, is much cheaper, overall. The yearly average cost, per person, of a nursing home to Medicaid is ,000 compared with ,000 for home care workers, according to one expert. .In the meantime, the chairman of the influential Senate Finance Committee Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) will re-introduce a drug pricing package (S. 2543) he assembled with the ranking member of his committee, Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and soon call on Senate leaders to allow debate on the measure, a Grassley spokesman announced last week. .SSA Reports Massive DI Overpayments .Congress should strengthen Social Security benefits by boosting benefits about 2 percent (about on average) and tie the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) which, in most years, would yield a modestly higher COLA. — 83 percent support, 12 percent not sure, and 5 percent opposed. .Alexandria, VSpiking drug prices are taking large numbers of Medicare beneficiaries by surprise according to a new survey by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). Sixty-one percent of people with Medicare drug coverage report higher co-pays and co-insurance costs than expected in 2014 according to more than 1,000 survey participants. The reason for the cost spikes may be tough for many beneficiaries to figure out, according to the survey. Sky-high drug prices are commonly associated with brand and newer specialty drugs, but cost spikes are now affecting generics as well.