News

  • Congressional Corner Pay Delay Must End Protect Seniors

    A growing volume of research is linking problems with eyes, ears, and teeth to health problems elsewhere in the body. Links have been found to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, respiratory illness, cancer, sleep apnea, dementia, and many other serious health conditions. Better care has been found to improve overall health in patients. Mary Johnson – a policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League – said this week, "Adding coverage may help both patients and Medicare save money on other costs." .The bill would limit price increases in drugs covered by Medicare Part D plans to the rate of inflation or drug makers would be forced to pay a penalty in the form of a rebate. "Since Social Security benefits only grow at the rate of inflation, it would help level the playing field if the cost of prescription medications were required to be adjusted in like fashion," Johnson notes. Research on typical retiree costs conducted by Johnson has found that from 2000 to 2019, annual cost – of – living adjustments (COLAs) increased Social Security benefits by 50 percent but spending on prescription drugs grew five times faster — 253 percent — over the same period. ."Using the chained CPI to calculate COLAs would make the problem even worse," Hyland contends. "The chained CPI is calculated much differently than the Consumer Price Index for Workers (CPI-W), the current CPI, and would have a significant effect on reducing the total amount of lifetime Social Security benefits that people receive," Hyland says. "The data certainly suggests this is the case," he adds. … Continued

  • Legislative Update Week Ending August 11 2017

    The Senior Citizens League strongly supports legislation in both the House and the Senate that would address this issue. H.R.576 Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act introduced by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA) in the House would expand Medicare to provide routine dental care. In the Senate, S.22 Medicare Dental Benefit Act, introduced by Senator Ben Cardin (MD) would also provide coverage for dental care. .Two weeks after President Trump signed an executive order "Lowering Drug Prices by Putting America First," the White House still has not released the text of the order. The unorthodox move is apparently a leverage play, an attempt to squeeze drug companies into offering concessions. .Medicare supplemental or Medigap policies tend to charge higher premiums, but cover most or all of the co-insurance costs for brief hospitalizations or doctor visits and other Medicare covered services. Medicare Advantage plans generally work in just the opposite fashion. Currently premiums are very low, but there could be considerable out-of-pocket co-payment costs should you require health care services. … Continued

With 1.2 million supporters, The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups. Its mission is to promote and assist members and supporters, to educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. Citizens, and to protect and defend the benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League is a proud affiliate of The Retired Enlisted Association. Visit for more information. .Source: "Analysis of Plan 2 of The President's Commission on Social Security," Congressional Budget Office, July 21, 2004. .White House officials and public health leaders said they don't expect a vaccine to be widely available until March or April, which means wearing masks and other non-pharmaceutical measures will likely be the only option to reduce the spread of the virus until the end of February. .The Social Security Trustees estimated last year that SS payroll taxes in 2020 would be about 3.8 billion under average economic conditions. Thus the 6 billion cost of the payroll tax provision in the CARES Act appears to be as much as 42% of all anticipated Social Security revenues for 2020. .The calculation of the COLA is based on the percentage of difference in the average third quarter change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Clerical Workers and Wage Earners (CPI-W) from one year to the next. In late August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina knocked out petroleum production, causing gasoline and other consumer prices to surge in September. The CPI-W shot up an astonishing 1.5 percent between August and September of that year. But since Katrina, the CPI-W has increased .042 percent on average from August to September. "Even if costs were to rise as much as they did after Katrina, the COLA for 2018 would still be about 2 percent," Johnson says. .Although not many studies exist, according to one study of average earners born from 1917 through 1926, the disparity in benefits with other retirees seems to average about 26%. .TSCL was pleased to see four new cosponsors sign on to H.R. 711 this week, and in the months ahead, we will continue to advocate for its passage so that public servants receive the retirement security they have earned and deserve. For updates on the progress of H.R. 711, follow TSCL on Twitter, or visit the Legislation News section of our website. .TSCL recently delivered letters to every Member of Congress asking for their vote in favor of legislation. To learn more, visit . .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.