News

  • Medicare Costs Too High Three Medicare Proposals That Would Make You Pay Even More

    TSCL supports these bills enthusiastically, and we were pleased to see support grow for them this week. For more information, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. .Social Security and Medicare are the targets of a growing number of new budget plans aimed at reducing federal spending. President Obama's Fiscal Commission recently voted 11-7 to cut Social Security benefits for all seniors, and require beneficiaries to pay substantially more for their Medicare. .The Social Security Expansion Act (H.R. 1114) gained one new cosponsor in Congressman Donald Payne (NJ-10), bringing the new cosponsor total up to thirty-one. If signed into law, H.R. 1114 would enhance Social Security benefits by basing COLAs on the CPI-E, increasing monthly checks by around per month, improving the Special Minimum Benefit, applying the payroll tax to income above 0,000, and applying a 6.2% tax on investment income for wealthy individuals. … Continued

  • The Seniors Citizens League Weekly Update

    A new Medicare cost-saving rule that was launched late in 2020 will cut payments to hospitals for some surgical procedures and could potentially raise costs for Medicare recipients. According to an article by Susan Jaffe, of Kaiser Health News, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has for years classified 1,740 surgeries and other services as "so risky" for older adults that Medicare would pay for them only when people were admitted to the hospital as inpatients. But under the new rule, CMS is beginning to phase out that requirement. By the end of 2023, these "inpatient only services" which includes complicated procedures such as heart and brain operations, is scheduled to be gone. .How do I go about writing my Congressman and Senators? .An Ohio physician ordered more than 400 drugs each for 13 of his 665 patients. In total, this physician ordered 50,430 drugs dispensed by 100 pharmacies in 18 states. … Continued

One Third of TSCL Survey Respondents Have Not Received Routine Dental Care in Two Years .Does Medicare Cover Eyeglasses? .Should seniors with Medigap supplements that provide "first dollar coverage" be required to pay more up-front? Should Medicare continue to pay for services based on medical necessity, or should the government change to a system "based on evidence of the value of services?" Congress may be debating these questions this month when the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) issues its June report to Congress. The idea is to make Medicare beneficiaries "think twice" before scheduling doctor, outpatient services, or hospital stays in order to reduce government spending on Medicare. .As a proud affiliate of TREThe Enlisted Association, and because many of TSCL supporters are military retirees we keep a close eye on the health benefits of military retirees. .SSA Reports Massive DI Overpayments .Sources: "Salaries of Members of Congress," Ida A. Brudnick, Congressional Research Service, February 1, 2012. .TSCL believes much more stringent measures are needed to protect Social Security and SSI programs from document fraud. TSCL supports legislation that would ban the use of unauthorized earnings for determining entitlement to Social Security benefits. In addition, TSCL supports stronger penalties for the use of fraudulent documents for obtaining federal benefits, including SSI. .Congressional inaction on the debt ceiling is a growing concern of TSCL's for several reasons. If a default on the federal debt occurs, Social Security benefits would likely be delayed, and millions of seniors living on fixed incomes would suffer financially. In addition, doctors who treat Medicare patients would likely see postponements in their reimbursements from the federal government, and access to quality medical care would be jeopardized for beneficiaries. .This policy benefits immigrants who have broken U.S. immigration and employment laws and have worked using a stolen or fraudulent Social Security number. In addition, this policy flaw raises questions as to whether Social Security eligibility acts as an incentive for more illegal immigration in the future.