News

  • Video Night In America Tscl Visits Capitol Hill 2 Feed

    The House recently passed legislation the FAIR Act (H.R. 1423, S.610) that would prohibit mandatory arbitration agreements in employment, consumer, and other contracts. Legal advocates who work on behalf of older adults estimate that as many as 90% of large nursing homes in the U.S. use arbitration agreements in their admission contracts. The federal government has been considering plans to expand the use of mandatory arbitration clauses to be included in contracts for every long - term care facility that accepts federal money as a condition of admission. Nursing homes receive funding from both Medicaid and Medicare for all residents. .TSCL Meets with Members of Congress .The new effort could be part of a second package later this year and TSCL will closely examine the legislation once it is finally developed to see if it accomplishes our goals and whether we can support it. … Continued

  • Benefit Bulletin October 2019

    TSCL plans to continue hosting town hall meetings in the future. If you are interested in helping us plan a meeting in your area, click HERE. .As we have written recently, Grassley's main problem in getting his bill passed in the Senate is opposition from his fellow Republicans. Grassley said he needs at least 25 Republican co-sponsors to get his bill (S. 2543) to the floor of the Senate for a vote. Ten Republicans other than Grassley have so far made public shows of support for the legislation. .The most widely-discussed proposals to revamp Social Security include raising the eligibility age, making the benefit formula less generous, and reducing the Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). Reducing COLAs would impact the lifetime Social Security benefits of all current beneficiaries, as well as affecting future retirees. Under discussion is a proposal that would reduce COLAs by switching to a more slowly-growing, "chained" consumer price index to calculate the annual benefit boost. In fact the new tax law, recently did something similar. Indexing of income tax brackets, the standard deduction, and other parameters of the tax code for inflation was tied to a chained COLA. That means that people will pay higher taxes over time, as the standard deduction becomes less generous, while rising income would tend to push older taxpayers into higher brackets. … Continued

According to a 2013 Pew Research study, women tend to take time off work to have children or care for aging family members more often than men, and then wind up with zero or only low earnings during those years. This reduces the initial Social Security retirement benefit. If a woman works entirely as a stay-at-home mom or is a full-time caregiver and doesn't take a job with an employer or is not self-employed, this means she would only rely on survivor or spousal benefits based on her spouse's work record for financial support. .On Wednesday, just hours before funding for the federal government was set to expire, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) to avoid a shutdown like the one that occurred two years ago. The temporary fix will provide enough funding to last through December 11th. .Sources: "Home Is Where The Money Is For Medicare Advantage Plans," Fred Schulte, Center For Public Integrity, June 10, 201"Medicare Advantage 2016 Data Spotlight: Overview of Plan Changes," Kaiser Family Foundation, December 2012015 Medicare Trustees Report, July 22, 2015. .It will take true leadership in Congress and the White House to save Medicare and face the reality of the situation: if we do nothing, which has been the status quo for years, Medicare as we know it will cease to exist. I am committed to doing all that can be done to ensure a strong and healthy Medicare program for America's seniors. ."For those who don't like these executive actions, there's time to get to the table and back a legislative solution," Grassley said in a statement. "I will continue the fight in Congress until significant prescription drug pricing legislation becomes law. The next coronavirus relief bill presents the perfect opportunity for Congress to meet the moment." .The House passed the bill yesterday and the Senate is expected to take it up next week. ."Super Congress" Holds First Hearing .TSCL is relieved that Congress has finally reached an agreement after weeks of heated negotiations. Another government shutdown like the one that occurred for sixteen days in 2013 could have resulted in delayed Social Security checks or interrupted reimbursements for doctors who treat Medicare patients. We will follow the movement of the deal very closely in the coming days, until it is signed into law by President Obama. In the meantime, follow us on Facebook or our new Twitter page for frequent updates. .As a country, we need to be ready to fix this problem once our economy recovers by making reforms that strengthen both programs. Once this occurs, more money will flow back into the trust funds to bolster their coffers. To address this issue I introduced H.R. 1517, the Social Security and Medicare Lock-Box Act, which would establish separate surplus accounts for both the Social Security and Medicare Part A trust fund and help protect against anyone in Washington from spending those resources on unrelated projects. Washington may be broken but legislation like H.R. 1517 will help ensure retirees' hard-earned tax dollars are protected and our promise to seniors is kept.