News

  • Category Issues Medicare Fraud Waste And Abuse Bills

    The Senior Citizens League's Legislative Liaison Joe Kluck visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday, December 4, 2018. .To get information about Medicare supplement premiums, first select the plan offering the coverage you are interested in, "A" through "N". You can find a listing of these plans on page 82 of the 2017 Medicare & You handbook but not all states will have all plans. Once you have chosen the plan then you can simply compare premiums between insurers. The coverage for each type of plan is just the same, but premiums between various insurers can vary tremendously. .Repurpose "heirlooms in time." If you have boxes of "almost antiques" hidden away in antiques or basements pick out a few to repurpose for a second time around. Restring those old broken beads, cut apart shrunken felted sweaters and sew into new tote bags for the market. Drill holes in into old loose-leaf tea cans and plant some thyme, rosemary or a small parsley plant for a sunny windowsill. A great place to get inspiration is www.Pintrest.com. … Continued

  • Speaker Pelosi Wants Legislation To Cut Drug Prices

    Another bill that would improve the COLA – the Guaranteed 3 Percent COLA Act (H.R. 991) – also gained support this week. Congressman Gene Green (TX-29) signed on to it, bringing the cosponsor total up to five. If adopted, H.R. 991 from Congressman Eliot Engel (NY-16) would base the COLA on the CPI-E and guarantee a minimum annual Social Security benefit increase of at least 3 percent. .Alexandria, VA (October 18, 2011) Irene H., a senior living in Central Virginia, will achieve a milestone this fall that few other 86-year olds can boast of. The thrifty senior, who takes three prescription medications every day, including an expensive brand-name eye drop for glaucoma, will cut her prescription drug costs by more than ,000 since 200Her secret? Every year during the fall Medicare Open Enrollment period, Irene learns about the changes in her drug plan for the upcoming year, and then compares all her options for drug coverage. She changes plans when she finds better coverage at a better cost. .Rep. Phil Roe (TN), who served as a witness at the Energy and Commerce hearing, introduced legislation in January to repeal the IPAB. The bill currently has bipartisan support and more than 160 cosponsors. While some, including President Obama and his Fiscal Commission, have proposed strengthening the authority of the IPAB, most at this week's hearings expressed their support for legislation that would eliminate it. … Continued

The provision only protects an estimated 70 percent of beneficiaries (almost 43 million beneficiaries) from increases in the Medicare Part B premium that exceed the dollar amount of their COLA. When an individual's Part B premium increases more than the dollar amount of their COLA, the Part B premium is reduced to prevent a reduction in net Social Security benefits from one year to the next. .When attending town halls, find out how your candidate stands on this issue. Ask whether he or she supports expanding Medicare coverage to dental care. .In the meantime, the chairman of the influential Senate Finance Committee Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) will re-introduce a drug pricing package (S. 2543) he assembled with the ranking member of his committee, Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and soon call on Senate leaders to allow debate on the measure, a Grassley spokesman announced last week. .Since you are still working and still under your full retirement age, you might consider reporting your estimated income to Social Security for 2019, and possibly for the months prior to turning your full retirement age next year. However, that would mean that your Social Security benefits would be withheld for even more months, and you might not receive any Social Security benefits at all in 201At the end of the year, you would have to notify Social Security of what you actually earned for 2019, and the calculation would be revised. If too much was withheld, you would get a refund. If not enough was withheld, you would have to pay the difference. Once you turn your full retirement age then, you will be able to earn as much as you want, and not be subject to Social Security earnings restriction rules for new earnings after turning age 66. .The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has estimated that it improperly paid .1 billion to Medicare Advantage plans in 2013 alone. Yet the plans are rarely forced to repay the money they have overcharged, or face closer government scrutiny after the audits, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO report said that CMS has failed to target health plans with "known improper payment risk", allowing the worst abusers to avoid scrutiny. ."Brand-name drugs are the primary driver of the higher prescription drug prices in the U.S.," report co-author Andrew Mulcahy said in a press release. .In addition, one new cosponsor signed on to the Strengthening Social Security Act (H.R. 3118), bringing the total up fifty-two. The new cosponsor is Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-5). If signed into law, the bill would reform the Social Security program in three ways: it would adjust the benefit formula, resulting in more generous monthly benefits; it would adopt the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E), resulting in more accurate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), and it would lift the cap on income subject to the payroll tax. The bill would extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund responsibly, without cutting benefits for seniors. .Unless something is done, TSCL calculates there may be no COLA for next year. .Only one other time in recent years, in 2009 at the peak of Great Recession job losses, has the AWI ever gone negative. The 2009 AWI dipped by 1.51% and retirees who were born in 1949 were affected. Although the problem was known at the time, the reductions to benefits were considered small and Congress took no action to prevent those reductions.