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  • Best Ways Save Five Secrets Eating Well Social Security Budget 2

    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. .In addition to a growing number of people affected by the tax, those who are affected pay a growing share of their benefits in taxes as well. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 52 million Social Security beneficiaries paid 6.7% of their Social Security benefits as income tax in 2014, and projects that will rise in the future to 10% or more. .This week, one new cosponsor – Rep. Elijah Cummings (MD-7) – signed on to the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) Act (H.R. 1030), bringing the bill's total up to twenty-five. If signed into law, the CPI-E Act would base the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) upon the spending patterns of seniors. Currently, it is based upon the way that young, urban workers spend their money – a method that underestimates the spending inflation that seniors experience. A study conducted by TSCL this year found that seniors have lost 31 percent of their purchasing power since 2000 – a clear sign that the current COLA is growing too slowly. … Continued

  • Ask Advisor June 2017

    Older adults age 65 and up have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-1Because retirees depend on Social Security for a major share of their income, they tend to spend their benefits on essentials right away. We feel that boosting the inflation adjustment is an important way to get crucial extra cash to older Americans and back into our nation's economy. .One-out-of-five people who participated in TSCL Senior Survey spend more than 0.00 per month out-of-pocket on prescription drugs. That's an enormous amount, considering the average Social Security benefit is just ,460.00 per month. But even if you only take generics, or your Medicare drug or health plan premium goes down, this does not mean that your 2020 Medicare plan's drug coverage costs will also decrease. Your Medicare drug plan's prescription coverage – including which drugs are covered by your plan, and the cost, usually changes every year. .At that point Congress would either must cut benefits in a major way or raise taxes to pay for continued benefits, something that Congress has refused to do for years. … Continued

Each year, due to a faulty formula that's used to determine Medicare's reimbursement rates, doctors are threatened with sizable pay cuts. This year, if Congress fails to act, doctors will face a 25 percent cut. Lawmakers consistently override scheduled pay cuts with temporary "fixes," but many doctors have grown tired of the ritual and have stopped treating Medicare patients. The estimated cost of repealing the formula has recently dropped dramatically, and many are hoping to replace it in the coming months. Doing so would provide much-needed stability for Medicare beneficiaries. .Some in Congress are hopeful that the conferees will negotiate a "grand bargain," which would include an overhaul of the tax code and entitlement reform. However, leaders in both chambers have been pushing for the conferees to focus more narrowly on replacing the "sequester" and establishing a fiscal 2014 budget blueprint. Should the conferees fail to reach a consensus, the government could face another shutdown on January 15th, a default on February 7th, and about billion in across-the-board spending cuts at the beginning of the year. .The President's proposal is likely to increase the already-escalating tension between the drug industry and his administration. The new order comes on the heels of the four executive orders he issued regarding drug prices two weeks ago. .Key Bill Gains Cosponsor .Fraud, waste and abuse are costing taxpayers and seniors an estimated billion a year, but Medicare fails to recover overpayments about 80 percent of the time. The Inspector General recently said that of the 6,287,546 in overpayments identified through the 30-month period ending March 31, 2009, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reported collecting only ,168,50But it gets even worse. The OIG said that it could not verify that the ,168,502 had been collected as reported because CMS did not have an adequate system for documenting overpayment collections. .TSCL strongly supports quick passage of the urgently needed legislation to stop the cuts. .Due to changes made to the Social Security benefit formula in the late 1970s, Notch Babies receive lower Social Security benefits than other Social Security recipients born before and after them with almost identical earnings. To learn more, or to add your name to TSCL's Notch Register, call 1-800-333-TSCL (8725). .Each month, due to the Social Security Act Amendments that were signed into law in 1977, more than 3.7 million Notch babies receive Social Security checks that are lower than the benefits they originally anticipated. Last year, Representative Mike McIntyre (NC-7) introduced the Notch. Benefit Bulletin: June 2012 "Tough Choices" — Payroll Tax Cut For Illegals Or Notch Reform? .Sources: "The Supplemental Poverty Measure: 2016," U.S. Census Bureau, September 201"How Many Seniors Are Living in Poverty? National and State Estimates Under the Official and Supplement Poverty Measures in 2016," Kaiser Family Foundation, March 2, 2018.