News

  • Category Issues Medicare Part B Feed

    Medicare Advantage plans require very careful scrutiny of potential costs. Some plans have lured seniors with low premiums and deductibles, only for enrollees to discover high undisclosed costs later. .The Inspector General found .1 billion in wages and self -employment income was reported in tax years 2006-2011 under the 67,000 numbers. The wage reports were placed in the Social Security Earnings Suspense File. The problem with placing these numbers into the Earnings Suspense File, however, allows for the earnings to potentially be claimed and used for determining benefits in the future. .As far as Medicare goes, the Part B funds will last for 30 years but the Part A funds, which pays inpatient hospital costs, will become insolvent in only 6 years. Both of those projections assume that nothing will be done before then to fix the programs, and TSCL has been working to get Congress to come up with a plan to stop those cuts from taking place. … Continued

  • Ask The Advisor March 2011 Advisor Feed

    The Medicare portion of spending, officials say, grew 6.2 percent in 2011, after growing just 4.3 percent in 20A major factor holding down costs was the recession. As tens of thousands of working seniors lost jobs, and their healthcare coverage, other seniors were hit by the crash of retirement savings and real estate values. This was followed by two years without any cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2010 or 2011. .To cover the projected cost, lawmakers included a reduction in funding to the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which was created by the ACA to support preventive care efforts, the management of chronic conditions, and developments in public health. .A deductible is the amount of money you must pay before your coverage starts. Many Medicare supplements (Medigap policies), Medicare Advantage plans, and drug plans cover Medicare's deductible as part of the coverage you purchase. Medigap polices "B" through "J" pay the Part A dedictible, and Plans "C", "F" and "J" also cover the Part B deductible. Medicare Advantage Plans and prescription drug plans may or may not have a yearly deductible depending on the type of plan you choose. There are also federal and state government programs for low-income seniors that provide assistance for this cost. … Continued

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the agency within the Department of Labor that gathers information about prices that consumers pay in order to determine the inflation rate, and therefore the COLA for next year, has let it be known that because of the virus they are going to have to estimate some of the costs of goods and services instead of finding out what they actually are. .Finally, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2017 (H.R.1205) gained two new cosponsors in Representative Walter Jones (NC-3) and Representative Tony Cardenas (CA-29), bringing the cosponsor total to 17If signed into law, H.R. 1205 would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – two Social Security provisions that unfairly reduce the earned benefits of millions of teachers, police officers, and other public servants each year. .TSCL Supports Bill To Kill The Medicare Cutting Board .An extremely low COLA (including the 1.3% that we are forecasting for 2021) could trigger a special provision of law that can cause Part B premiums to spike. That's especially true when combined with the higher than forecast Medicare outlays due to COVID-19, and the need to replenish program reserves. .By doing her research now, your sister can start learning about her options in the area where she would like to live. She needs to get an idea of how much senior living options cost, how the options are financed, and what she needs to do to get ready for such a move. There are companies that specialize in helping older adults downsize, and she may need to talk to a financial planner and real estate agents to get her home ready to put on the market. .Housing: (rent of primary residence, owners' equivalent rent, fuel oil, bedroom furniture) .When he first ran for office, candidate Trump promised he would not make any attempt to cut Social Security or Medicare while he is President. But in an interview this week with CNBC's Joe Kernan, and definitely something we will be keeping a close eye on, President Trump mentioned in a news conference that cutting entitlements (Social Security and Medicare) is not off the table. .As we have previously written, there is a bill that has passed out of the Senate Finance Committee called the Grassley-Wyden bill but Senator McConnell also refuses to bring that bill to the floor for consideration. The Grassley-Wyden bill is co-sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, Ron Wyden (D-OR). .TSCL's Board Visits Capitol Hill