News

  • Senate Finally Gets Organized

    Under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, private and public sector large employers are responsible for providing health insurance for employees and contributing toward the cost of insurance. Generally, the federal health insurance exchange is only available for people who can't otherwise afford to purchase the insurance offered by their employer (according to thresholds set by law). But the fight to pass the 2010 Affordable Care Act was so contentious and controversial that some Members of Congress insisted that their colleagues set an example and be required to have the same coverage as all other Americans. .Cut back spending. Given that housing represents more than one-third of their expenses, older Americans might look for ways to free up the equity in their homes by downsizing or taking out a reverse mortgage, or find ways to cut their costs by exploring options such as home-sharing. .For example, the CMF report offers suggestions on how House member offices can most effectively absorb additional cuts. Most notably, these include salary freezes, a potential shift to increased e-mail use over traditional mail, and limited travel expenses to district functions. … Continued

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending December 4 2015

    Here are four ways to help you get more from your homeowners coverage: .Case 2— A man born in Mexico worked under his father's SSN for 9 years and then had these wages transferred when he acquired his own SSN before collecting retirement benefits. From 1999 to 2002 he collected approximately ,441 in retirement benefits, including benefits for dependents based on his account. Estimated benefits over 20 years — ,300. .The Social Security Notch is the unexpectedly steep drop in benefits that affects people born from 1917 through 192This generation of seniors receives lower benefits than other seniors who had nearly identical work and earnings histories. … Continued

The subcommittee's bill would repeal the formula and replace it with an enhanced fee-for-service system, while also allowing doctors to opt-out and participate in alternative payment models that emphasize quality. The bill was overwhelmingly approved by a voice vote on Tuesday, but much work remains to be done. Lawmakers have not yet determined how they will offset the full cost of the bill, although it does currently include funding for some provisions by authorizing transfers from the Medicare Part B Trust Fund. .We end the update this week with some hopeful news regarding Alzheimer's disease. According to a report from National Public Radio, there is evidence that vaccines that protect against the flu and pneumonia may actually protect people from Alzheimer's, too. The evidence comes from two studies presented last Monday at this year's Alzheimer's Association International Conference, which is being held as a virtual event. .Legislation to Control Drug Prices Possible This Year? .How can I get involved/help out? .Congresswoman Gloria Negrete McLeod represents California's 35th Congressional District encompassing the communities of Bloomington, Chino, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona, and portions of Fontana and Rialto. .Spending Bill Dominates "Lame Duck" Session .The basic science that has allowed the small company to move so rapidly was developed with a huge prior infusion of federal money to come up with a treatment for diseases like Zika. .To date the government has no comprehensive estimate of the costs of such policies on the Social Security Trust Fund, or the cost of benefits based on illegal work. Nevertheless, Congress is studying a number of changes to Social Security that would cut the benefits of both future and current U.S. senior citizen beneficiaries who worked and paid into Social Security legally. .Rep. Paul Ryan said this week that he would also like to consider reforms to the Medicare program at that time. At an event on Monday, he stated, "There are other issues, like Medicare reform-based issues, that we'd like to enter into this to try and help pay for this … Sometimes you find if you have a problem that's small and intractable, if you make it a little bigger it's actually easier to solve, and that's kind of the way we're looking at the full-time doc fix."