News

  • Congressional Inaction Could Mean Lower Benefits For People Born In 1960

    The Board of Trustees for Social Security and Medicare recently released a bombshell of a report that shows this essential health safety net is coming apart at the seams. The report estimates the Medicare trust fund will run dry in 2024, five years earlier than last year's estimate, and went on to explain, "The fund is not adequately financed over the next ten years." In an alternate estimate also released, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Chief Actuary Rick Foster painted an even more dire picture, reporting that Medicare's unfunded obligations could be significantly higher, and long-term costs could dramatically increase from the numbers provided in the Board of Trustee's report. .It would permanently set the Social Security Administration's administrative funding at 1.5 percent of overall benefit payments, more than doubling the funding that the administration currently receives. .The Drug Plan Finder can help you get very specific information because you can input the prescriptions you currently use and then find the lowest cost plan that covers your drugs. However, the lowest cost plan may not always be your wisest choice, especially since your doctor may change your prescriptions in the future or you may be close to the doughnut hole coverage gap. You may benefit by spending a little more and getting a plan that covers 95% of all drugs and covers at least generics in the gap. … Continued

  • The Senior Citizens League Tscl Weekly Update For Week Ending June 19 2020

    Many expected the Obama administration to seek an emergency review of the decision by the Supreme Court, but on Wednesday, the Justice Department announced that it would not. Instead, the administration said it will focus on another 5th Circuit hearing that's scheduled for the week of July 6th. .Since he was first elected to Congress in 2010, Congressman Mulvaney – a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus – has been vocal about his support for reforming the Social Security and Medicare programs. In a 2011 interview, he told reporters: "We have to end Medicare as we know it. We have to fix it." He has endorsed several proposals that would privatize the Medicare program by adopting a "premium support" model, and on Tuesday, he endorsed plans to increase means-testing within the program. Both of those proposals are opposed by TSCL since they would result in higher out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries. .In response to heightened concerns over antibiotic resistance, two dozen of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies have formally launched a billion for-profit venture fund to replenish the global medicine chest with novel treatments. … Continued

The aggressive collection efforts resulted from a one-line change tucked into the 2008 Farm Bill lifting the statute of limitations. The U.S. Treasury seized a reported .9 billion in tax refunds this year alone — million of that was for debts more than 10 years old. The Social Security Administration says that 400,000 taxpayers collectively owe 4 million in debts that are more than 10 years old. .The Social Security 2100 Act — In the 115th Congress, Congressman John Larson's (CT-1) Social Security 2100 Act gained the support of more than 170 cosponsors, but unfortunately it was not brought to the House floor for a vote. In TSCL's December meeting with Congressman Larson's staff, he agreed to re-introduce the bill at the start of the 116th Congress, and to convene several hearings on the bill as the new Chairman of the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee in the 116th TSCL is confident that the bill will be advanced by the House of Representatives by the end of this year. .It's clear that Congress has failed mature workers and their families. We need to do more to create jobs and ensure mature workers have the skills needed for today's job market. .This week, one new cosponsor – Rep. Suzan DelBene (WA-1) – signed on to Rep. Peter DeFazio's (OR-4) No Loopholes in Social Security Taxes Act (H.R. 1029), bringing the total up to thirty-one. If signed into law, the bill would extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund by subjecting all income over 0,000 to the Social Security payroll tax. Currently, the payroll tax cap sits at 7,000, and no income over that amount is taxed. .Editor's note: While I have a pretty reliable track record on estimating the COLA, this year's inflation is far different than at any previous time in the past 26+ years. Inflation has been so volatile that I worry my probability models may not work as well as they typically do. In most years I'm pretty certain about my September estimate of the COLA for the following year. But this time all bets are off. Be patient — I'm no psychic, and stay tuned to the news! .In determining the COLA what items does the government track for price changes? Why does the COLA grow so much more slowly than my costs? .We are covering this study again because according to an article on BenefitsPro.com, "The study is part of a growing body of evidence that cost-sharing, designed to encourage consumers to make smarter choices when shopping for health care, is not achieving that goal. Both anecdotal and statistical data suggest that health care, as it exists today in the U.S, is simply too complicated and opaque for Americans to approach as a simple consumer product." .It's unlikely that Congress will move forward on this plan or any Medicare reform proposals before a critical election, but The Senior Citizens League will keep a close eye on the negotiations. .Traveling Is Still a Danger