News
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Medicare Advantage Plans Overbill Medicare
The poll, which was conducted in September and October of this year, during the debt limit budget standoff, found that respondents voted higher and more fair COLAs as an even greater priority than "Preventing 20% Social Security Disability Insurance benefit cut" or "increases in Medicare premiums and cost-sharing"— two provisions which were passed in the recent debt deal. .This week, lawmakers passed a temporary spending bill just hours before a government shutdown was set to occur. In addition, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) announced its support for one new bill, and one piece of legislation gained critical new support. .Last year the House did pass a Medicare negotiations bill, which would cap out-of-pocket drug costs for older people and expand program benefits as well. But it has had no Republican support in the House, and it has no path forward in the Republican Senate because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has refused to bring it up for a vote. In addition, the White House calls it unworkable. … Continued
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The Senior Citizens Leaguepress Releasemedicaid Cuts
Eleven new cosponsors signed on to the Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures (PRIME) Act (S. 1123 and H.R. 2305) this week, bringing the total up to twenty in the Senate and thirty in the House. If signed into law, the comprehensive bill would take a number of steps to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse within the two programs – a problem that TSCL believes must be addressed in order to ensure that scarce program dollars are being spent properly. The new cosponsors are: Sen. John Boozman (AR), and Reps. Duncan Hunter (CA-50), Steve Stivers (OH-15), Dan Benishek (MI-1), Martha Roby (AL-2), Dennis Ross (FL-15), Thomas Rooney (FL-17), Shelley Moore Capito (WV-2), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27), Allyson Schwartz (PA-13), Earl Blumenauer (OR-3), and Edward Royce (CA-39). .Social Security beneficiaries received a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 2 percent this year, but most are seeing their benefit increases completely offset by higher Medicare Part B premiums. Do you support legislation that would give older Americans a more fair and adequate Social Security COLA? .Medicare Part B enrollees who don't receive Social Security benefits. This includes people who have delayed the start of Social Security benefits, and all people who are billed for Medicare. According to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2013, about half of all people on Medicare who don't yet receive Social Security had incomes below ,000. … Continued
The group offers a Seniors Program that connects eligible seniors 65 and older with local volunteer ophthalmologists who provide a medical eye exam (often at no out-of-pocket cost), and up to one year of follow-up care for any conditions diagnosed during the initial exam. .Fraud is so prevalent that prevention is only part of the solution. One in 20 seniors in the U.S. is a target of fraud schemes. Yet, the National Adult Protective Services Association has found that only one in 44 seniors report that they are victims of a fraud scheme, suggesting seniors lack information on how to file a complaint. .The Social Security Administration also announced on Thursday that the Social Security payroll tax cap will rise from 8,400 in 2018 to 2,900 in 201Most American workers contribute 6.2 percent of every paycheck to the Social Security program, but high earners will stop contributing to the program once they reach 2,900 in income next year. That means the wealthiest American CEOs – many of whom are billionaires – will be finished paying into the Social Security program just a few hours or days into 2019. .Try going back to work or getting a second job. — Reducing costs is often the harder choice, because costs tend to grow with age. You may want to consider getting a job that could provide extra income and perhaps help with health benefits. Even if you must stay at home as a caregiver, you may want to consider providing adult day care to another individual if your home is set up for that, or to find a job that allows you to work online from home. .PhRMA, the drug industry's lobbying group, called the bill "the wrong approach to lowering prescription drug prices" and said it "imposes harmful price controls in Medicare Part D." But with drug prices for many brand and specialty drugs running into the hundreds and even thousands of dollars for a single fill, TSCL believes that restricting the rate of increase on prescription drugs, and capping out-of-pocket costs, could help save lives and improve the health of older Americans. .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. .So far, 800,000 federal workers have been furloughed, and Members of the House have begun taking a piecemeal approach that would send some of them back to work by providing funding for certain agencies. However, the Senate has rejected each bill. Leaders in that chamber believe a piecemeal approach will set a bad precedent and give the opposing political party "veto power over what is funded and what isn't," according to Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY). .It is not clear what implications, if any, the findings might have for the two other major vaccines being used in the U.S., Pfizer's and Moderna's. .This week, the CBO released its report on the long term budget outlook, which found that the federal debt is projected to increase from today's rate of 74 percent of GDP to 106 percent of GDP in twenty-five years if no major changes are made. The nonpartisan agency said the trend cannot be sustained indefinitely, and already, the total amount of debt held by the public is "higher than at any point in U.S. history except a brief period around World War II."