News

  • Congress Should Boost Social Security Benefits And Increase The Amount Of Wages Subject To Payroll Tax

    It closed the Medicare outpatient therapy cap. Before the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act, Medicare coverage for various forms of outpatient therapy – including physical therapy and speech therapy – was arbitrarily capped at ,500 per year. For years, lawmakers sought to repeal this cap since it limited the care older Americans could receive under Medicare. TSCL advocated tirelessly for Congressman Erik Paulsen's (MN-3) bipartisan Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act (H.R. 807), and we were thrilled that a similar provision was included in this year's bipartisan budget agreement, repealing the therapy cap once and for all. .Acting Social Security Commissioner Carolyn Colvin said, "I have directed an immediate halt to further referrals under the Treasury Offset Program to recover debts owed to the agency that are 10 years old and older pending a thorough review of our responsibility and discretion under the current law." But a week after the announcement The Washington Post reported that "many taxpayers say the government is still seizing refunds." The Social Security Administration said letters to those taxpayers went out before the announcement, but it remains unclear whether they will get their money back. .This week, progress stalled on a continuing resolution to fund the federal government past September 30th. In addition, one Senate committee held a hearing on maximizing Social Security benefits. … Continued

  • Past Cola Changes Costing Seniors Thousands In Social Security Annually

    "Higher gasoline and transportation prices in particular are behind the high COLA estimate for 2022, because those expenditures are given greater weight or importance in the consumer price index (CPI) that's used to calculate the COLA. That works to the advantage of retired and disabled beneficiaries for the COLA payable in January of 202That has not been the case for many of the past 12 years when cheap gasoline, and other falling prices dragged down the COLA. Since 2010, COLAs have averaged just 1.4%. Inflation was so low that no COLA was payable at all in 2010, 2011, and 201In 2017 the COLA was almost zero, just 0.3 percentage point. .This week the House of Representatives is expected to pass the final version of President Biden's .9 trillion coronavirus relief plan, after which the President will sign it and it will become law. ."To lower the expected cost of these new benefits, House Democrats have proposed introducing the new dental benefits starting in 2028, ramping up the coverage over five years." … Continued

This week, the 115th Congress convened and lawmakers in the Senate took the first steps towards a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. .The federal government negotiates prescription drug prices for Medicaid and for veterans, but it is not allowed to negotiate lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. Do you support this policy? .Your husband would need to apply for Social Security disability benefits to learn if his medical condition meets the Social Security Administration's definition of disability. But before getting started, it's important to understand your choices, since your husband is also old enough to start Social Security retirement benefits. .We reported last week that President Trump has dropped his demand for a payroll tax cut in any new pandemic-related stimulus bill, which TSCL successfully lobbied against, along with many other groups. However, other issues have caused great difficulty in negotiations for a new bill, one of which has not received much attention in the main press. .MA enrollees could be impacted by the ACA's cuts in other ways, as well. They could begin to see higher premiums, deductibles, or co-pays in the coming years. They could also see reduced supplemental benefits like vision or dental coverage. According to another expert witness at the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee hearing – Robert Book of the Health Systems Innovation Network – by 2015, MA beneficiaries will see an average reduction of ,530 in benefits due to the reduced funding from the federal government, and in 2017 that number will grow to an astounding ,700. .No. In fact whether he's aware of it or not, your brother-in-law may be involved in a Medicare fraud. If he's receiving payment, free goods or services in exchange for his Medicare number, that's considered a crime than can result in jail time. It's becoming more common, especially in Medicare fraud hot spots like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and the south Florida area where you live. .How much are you over-paying for your prescription drugs? The only way to find out is to do a drug plan comparison based on all the drugs you take. This is the time of year you can make changes during the Medicare Open Enrollment period, which runs through the month of November and ends December 7th. Give the Medicare Drug Plan Finder a try. You can get free one-on-one counseling by contacting your local Area on Aging, State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) or senior centers and ask for help comparing Medicare drug plans. .In addition, the full retirement age — the age at which individuals qualify for full, unreduced Social Security benefits, is rising. Retiring prior to the full retirement age permanently reduces benefits by as much as 30 percent. The full retirement age, which is currently is 66, goes up by 2 months per year for people born after 1954 through 195It is 67 for those born in 1960 and thereafter. .Second, one new cosponsor – Representative Bradley Byrne (AL-1) – signed on to the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 1205), bringing the total up to 195 cosponsors. If adopted, this critical bill would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – two provisions that unfairly reduce the Social Security benefits of millions of teachers, police officers, and other state and local government employees each year. Its passage would ensure that retired public servants receive the Social Security benefits they have earned and deserve.