News

  • Benefit Bulletin April May 2020

    Although it hasn't been introduced as legislation yet, some specifics were outlined in a fact sheet released by the group. Under the plan, the government would pay for three-quarters of the cost of the average plan, and for the most expensive enrollees, it would pay ninety percent of the cost. Wealthy seniors would pay a larger share of the cost, and low-income seniors would receive assistance from Medicaid. In addition, the age of eligibility would increase by three months each year, until it hits seventy in 2034. .To avoid significant cost increases and unexpected benefit cuts next year, TSCL encourages its members and supporters to examine all MA plan offerings closely before making a selection or allowing a plan to automatically renew. The open enrollment period ends on December 7th, and coverage begins on January 1st. In the meantime, TSCL will continue to monitor the status of the MA program and advocate for legislation like the Medicare Advantage Participant Bill of Rights Act, which would protect MA enrollees from unfair and abrupt changes to physician networks. .Benefit formula cuts: Change the benefit formula reducing benefits for new retirees with both high and average earnings. … Continued

  • Category Legislative News Page 41

    Home Sale Stalled, But Mom Needs To Move .3 Social Security scenarios show vastly different results .The Part A deductible, however, is charged "per spell of illness" and it's feasible that you could have to pay it more than one time in a year should you require multiple hospitalizations the same year. … Continued

In view of what happened and the substantial differential in pure dollar terms, TSCL believes "The Notch Fairness Act" is a fair, and even modest settlement for those who were affected by the Notch. "The Notch Fairness Act" would provide those born from 1917 through 1926 the option of choosing ,000 payable over a five year period or an improved monthly benefit. .So far, many accomplishments have made the first session of the 113th Congress a memorable one for TSCL. To read more about our latest efforts, check out our Legislative Updates. .The SNAP Simplification for the Elderly Act will build upon the success of the USDA's Elderly Simplified Application Project by extending the SNAP recertification periods for households from 12 to 36 months if all adult household members are elderly, disabled or enrolled in Medicaid or the Medicare Savings Program. ."Social Security was originally created to lift older Americans out of poverty," Johnson notes. "The annual COLA is intended to prevent erosion in the buying power of benefits," Johnson says. "Between the growth in healthcare costs and flat growth in benefits, the COLA is failing the very people it's intended to protect," she says. .For updates on the progress of S. Con. Res. 3, visit the Legislative News section of our website, or follow TSCL on Facebook and Twitter. To view TSCL's full legislative agenda for the 115th Congress, click HERE. .Last year, I introduced bipartisan legislation to halt this obscure tax increase on seniors. Since then, we've worked hard to build broad support inside of Congress and out. The bill has the endorsement of a list of taxpayer and seniors advocacy groups and passed the U.S. House of Representatives on a bipartisan vote on September 13, 2016. .Other countries, such as Britain, take a more head-on approach: a national body does a cost-benefit analysis regarding the price at which a new drug is worth being made available to its citizens. Health authorities then use that information to negotiate with a drug maker on price and to develop a national reimbursement plan. .This has led National Cancer Institute (NCI) Director Ned Sharpless to worry that the trend of patients and physicians postponing essential cancer care will swap the ongoing pandemic for another public health crisis in the form of increased cancer cases and deaths. An NCI analysis estimated, for instance, that pandemic-related delays in breast and colon cancer diagnoses and treatment could lead to 10,000 more deaths over the next decade. "We're very worried about the consequences of … delaying therapy on our patients," Sharpless said. .An unusually steep drop in inflation has slightly improved the buying power of Social Security benefits this year — by about 9%. But despite the temporary improvement, Social Security benefits have still lost 22% of their buying power since 2000, according to the 2015 Survey of Senior Costs recently released by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL).