News

  • Whats Medicare Buy

    Enrolled in Medicare Advantage? ,700 in Benefit Cuts by 2017 Predicted .TSCL has many veterans among its supporters and no-doubt not all of them have a disability rating so they may be happy to know that Congress is considering including them in the VA's Covid-19 vaccination efforts. .Medigap plans by law are now barred from offering drug coverage, and beneficiaries need to add "drug only" coverage to their Medicare supplement. … Continued

  • Social Security Trustees Legislative Action Needed Asap

    The annual COLA increased Social Security benefits in January of 2021 by just 1.3 percent. While mild inflation in 2020 did improve the buying power of Social Security benefits by 2 percentage points through the month of January 2021 — from a loss in buying power of 30 percent to a loss of 28 percent — that improvement was completely wiped out by soaring inflation in February and March of this year," says Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). Based on consumer price data through July 2021, the erosion in the buying power of Social Security benefits has deepened to 32 percent over the 2year period. .On Thursday, with a vote of 326-96, lawmakers in the House passed legislation that will fund the federal government past December 9th. The short-term continuing resolution (CR) will provide funding at a .07 trillion rate – up slightly from the current rate of .067 trillion – through April 28, 2017. .In addition, early this week lawmakers in the Senate majority took the first steps towards a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (WY) introduced a fifty-four-page budget resolution – S. Con. Res. 3 – on Tuesday that includes instructions for fast-tracking the law's repeal. The resolution instructs the four committees of jurisdiction – two in the House and two in the Senate – to draft repeal legislation before a January 27th deadline. It overcame its first hurdle on Wednesday when the Senate voted 51-48 to proceed. … Continued

"Income-Relating Medicare Part B and Part D Premiums: How Many Medicare Beneficiaries Will Be Affected?" Kaiser Family Foundation, Publication No. 8126, December 2010. .TSCL is a strong supporter of H.R. 973, and we were pleased to see support grow for it this week. .Last year was a busy and successful one for The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). Three major legislative efforts that had our support were effectively tackled by lawmakers in Congress and signed into law by President Obama. .Now that March has arrived, winter is starting to appear in the rearview mirror, large sections of the country will experience unseasonably warm temperatures this week, Covid-19 vaccinations are picking up, and we are all getting tired of living the way we have for the past year. .Unlike the way Medicare negotiates costs for all other medical services and medical equipment, the program doesn't have the authority to negotiate drug prices. That leaves older U.S. consumers paying higher prices than people who get their medications through the VA Administration or state Medicaid programs. And because Medicare isn't negotiating on our behalf, there's no consistency in drug pricing between Part D drug plans either. Prices vary enormously, and new research for TSCL indicates millions of drug plan enrollees are getting gouged when they don't compare and switch to better plans. .In April, House lawmakers voted on a balanced budget amendment to the constitution that would have been disastrous for Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries if adopted. Did you support this drastic measure, and if so, why? .Why Can't Legal Guardians Receive Social Security Benefits on Behalf of Grandchild? .TSCL believes several of the proposals under consideration would make the program unaffordable over time for the majority of beneficiaries. According to a new TSCL survey, more than one quarter of Medicare beneficiaries spend as much as 50% of their Social Security payments just to cover healthcare costs. TSCL recently delivered a listing of hundreds of thousands of petition signers from supporters to almost every Member of Congress and is continuing to convey concerns about plans to cut Social Security and Medicare. .The Senior Citizens League strongly believes allowing the HHS Secretary to negotiate with the drug companies is one important way to reduce the costs of drugs for seniors. We will be continuing our efforts to get Congress to pass legislation that would make this possible.