News

  • Social Security Recipients Think Government Manipulates Cpi Data 2

    Please join us in our drive to gather 100,000 signatures on a petition to the White House by clicking Here to sign our petition or by pasting this into your address bar: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/stop-calling-payroll-tax-cuts-and-preserve-social-security-and-medicare .Irene is the first to say she wouldn't know where to begin when it comes to figuring out the best deal for her drug coverage. To accomplish this she gets unbiased advice and counseling. Her neighbor, Mary Johnson, is a Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). Johnson, who has assisted seniors to compare and enroll in plans since the start of Part D in 2006, says "the cost differences between plans can be huge - Irene saved about ,276 in 2011 alone." .There is widespread support among older Americans for a benefit boost. TSCL surveys have found that 83% of survey participants think Congress should increase Social Security benefits by about 2% of the average benefit, roughly per month (0) in 202Sixty-two percent of survey participants also favor a more generous annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) by tying the annual inflation adjustment to the Consumer-Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), and 50% favor enacting a guarantee that COLAs would never be lower than 3%. … Continued

  • Update For June 12 2021

    Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment – Ensure a fair, accurate, and guaranteed COLA. .TSCL also announced its support this week for the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act (S. 41, H.R. 242), which was introduced by Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN) in the Senate and by Representative Peter Welch (VT) in the House. Their bill, if signed into law, would require the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate prescription drug prices on behalf of nearly 40 million Medicare Part D beneficiaries. If HHS were able to negotiate similar prices as those paid by Medicaid and the Veterans Health Administration, the Medicare program would save billions of dollars annually, and beneficiaries would have better access to more affordable prescription drugs. .TSCL surveys over the past decade have indicated that the vast majority of older adults are overwhelmingly opposed to the government policy of allowing credit toward Social Security benefits for work under invalid and fraudulent Social Security numbers. A large number of the comments we receive are focused on the belief that immigrants are benefiting at the expense of U.S. citizens. Many older voters perceive unauthorized immigrants as benefiting from Medicaid, tax refunds for children, food stamps, and that children of unauthorized immigrants are swelling the enrollment of public schools. Meanwhile, the same voters are watching in disgust as lawmakers make surprise Social Security cuts, and battle down to the last minute over the question of whether to repay revenues borrowed from the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds. … Continued

How Should Congress Strengthen Social Security and Medicare? .Both House and Senate tax reform bills index the individual tax brackets and the standard deduction to the slowly-growing "chained" Consumer Price Index (CPI). This change will result in tax increases for most individuals over time because they will reach higher tax brackets faster than they would under current law. It also increases the probability that lawmakers will apply the inadequate "chained" CPI as a cost-saving measure to other government indexes that grow with inflation, like the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). .Although immigration law forbids work without authorization, immigrants do find jobs and employers report their earnings to SSA. Currently there are no official published data on the amount of money paid into the Social Security system by aliens whether legal or illegal.(5) Social Security's Chief Actuary, Stephen C. Goss, however, has been quoted in the news media as saying that about three quarters of "other–than–legal" immigrants pay payroll taxes.(6) .Medicare and many state Medicaid programs are in the process of transitioning to value-based medicine that would change the way government healthcare programs pay for care. Doctors and healthcare providers are given incentives to improve health and to reduce the incidence of chronic disease — in order to lower spending on healthcare and provide better care at a lower cost. There's emphasis on giving providers single payments for a "bundle of services" instead of paying for each service, checkup or X-ray. This reimbursement system differs from traditional fee-for-service Medicare, as well as Medicare Advantage plans' "capitated" payments, in which providers are paid more for sick patients, regardless of health outcomes. .The resolution would also allow committees to meet remotely using interactive technology and let members cast votes remotely during the legislative process. .Proponents say that the change is needed because the CPI is inaccurate and doesn't reflect the effect on inflation when consumers substitute different types of lower-costing goods and services as prices increase. They argue that the government overpays Social Security beneficiaries because the current index is inaccurate and overstates inflation. .Congress Averts Government Shutdown .In addition, one new cosponsor signed on to the Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act (H.R. 2575), bringing the total up to eighteen. The new cosponsor is Representative Seth Moulton (MA-6). If signed into law, the BENES Act would simplify the Medicare enrollment process and better inform those approaching Medicare eligibility about their future benefits and the application process. .TSCL believes that while the proposal may be a sensible first step, it doesn't go far enough. Before individuals can enroll in Medicare Advantage or Part D plans, they must be enrolled in Medicare Part B and have a Medicare number. How illegal immigrants obtain that number, and whether they are properly enrolled in Medicare Part B, are two key questions. "To prevent ineligible people from receiving benefits, the responsibility lies with the 'gatekeeper' and that's the federal government," says TSCL's Executive Director, Shannon Benton. "The Social Security Administration and Medicare need to do more to prevent illegal immigrants from getting Medicare numbers to begin with," Benton says. "In addition, both Medicare and private health and drug plans need up-to-date and accurate verification systems in place to determine whether beneficiaries are legally present when they receive services," she adds.