News

  • Legislative Update For The Week Ending January 14 2011

    "Failing to raise the U.S. debt ceiling could be disastrous," warns The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a group made up of leading U.S. economists, retired economic policy experts, and former Members of Congress concerned about reducing federal debt. If Congress fails to lift or suspend the debt limit in time, the inflow of Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes won't be sufficient to cover daily obligations. That could mean the U.S. Treasury could default on Social Security payments as well as payments to Medicare health plans. .It will also amend existing law to allow the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commissioner of Social Security (SSA) to administer Combined Application Projects (CAP) in at least 10 additional states, which will streamline application procedures for SSI and SNAP. Seventeen states currently participate in this program. .This is not the end of the story, however. More legislation will be needed to stop additional Medicare payment cuts that are scheduled in 2022. … Continued

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending March 16 2012

    Critics of mandatory arbitration say the agreements stack the deck against long term care residents and consumers. Unlike civil suits which go to court, arbitration is private, and there's no judge or jury. There are no rules of evidence that arbitrators have to follow under the law, and there's no oversight. Critics also contend that consumers are less likely to win their cases in private arbitration and, if they do win, they tend to get much less money than they would in court. .For information about town hall meetings near you in the weeks ahead, call the local offices of your elected officials. For contact information, click HERE. .Upon introducing the Protecting Medicare Beneficiaries Act, Sen. Wyden said, "Today's fix will protect over 370,000 Oregonians and millions of seniors across the country from an abrupt and dramatic increase in Medicare costs. It is urgent that Congress take decisive action to ensure vulnerable Americans aren't harmed by this archaic policy." … Continued

Unfortunately, a long-time TSCL goal of reducing prescription drug prices did not make it into the newly introduced House bill. It appears that, as we have written before, legislation to reduce drug prices will not be dealt with until sometime in the fall. .The good news is that reducing drug costs appears to have bipartisan support. Two critical congressional committees – the Senate Finance Committee and the House Oversight and Reform Committee – have launched investigations into the pricing practices of the pharmaceutical industry. .Failure to balance between price and services. Assisted living and continuing care communities can be very expensive and more people are living longer in these facilities. It's important to make finances last while maintaining access to the best care. When exploring options, don't be afraid to look into facilities in areas that have lower costs of living, even if you won't be able to visit with your family every single day. What you give up in fancy features, you may trade off with more affordable rents, and service fees, more personal attention, while still getting high standards of care. .Other priorities in 2015 will include advocating for a more fair and accurate Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, monitoring the continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and protecting Medicare Advantage enrollees from harsh and unforeseen benefit cuts. .Despite these known challenges, President Trump recently signed an Executive Order which allows the deferral of payroll taxes, including Medicare taxes, if the taxpayer is affected by a federally-declared emergency like the coronavirus. The Executive Order doesn't apply to all workers, only those earning up to 0,000 annually. The average worker will be able to put off paying just under 0 for the term of the deferral, September 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020, or about per week. The move is only temporary, and workers will be required to repay the taxes next year. .This week, the Senate returned from break and President Barack Obama delivered the State of the Union address. New co-sponsors were also added to a pair of Social Security bills, and negotiations continue on how to fund the "doc fix." .If you do not wish for your mailing address to be shared with other reputable companies, please provide us with your exact name and address and we will be sure that your name is removed from the list we share with other organizations. .Ask the Advisor: August 2021 Why Can't Legal Guardians Receive Social Security Benefits on Behalf of Grandchild? ."Guest Worker" Immigration Reform Would Give Access to Social Security