News

  • Legislative Update For The Week Ending January 14 2011 Feed

    Until June 1, 2016 he was the Director, RAFB Retiree Activities Office and he stays actively involved in the Warner Robins community including participating in Retiree Appreciation Days, Robins AFB, planning and participating in Memorial Day and Veterans Day activities, TREA's JROTC Awards Program, and the Robins Angel Tree program among others. .Rick is currently retired from the Central Georgia Multiple Listing Service, Inc., after serving 15 years as President and Chief Executive Officer. .In fact, your best bet, and one that could help you save hundreds of dollars on your health insurance costs, is to get the unbiased advice of a trained Medicare benefits counselor through your state Health Insurance Assistance Program. The program provides free one-on-one local health insurance counseling through many local Area Agencies on Aging. To find the agency nearest you, consult your phone book or The Eldercare Locator. You may find the information resources at www.eldercare.gov/Eldercare/Public/Home.asp or you may speak to an Eldercare Locator information specialist by calling toll-free at 1-800-677-1116 weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (ET). … Continued

  • Legislative Update Week Ending January 4 2019

    TSCL is closely watching for the introduction of proposals to strengthen Social Security and Medicare benefits and program financing. While financing issues for both programs are daunting, we believe that funding for both can be strengthened without deep benefit cuts. "Increasing benefits for all" was a key platform plank for the majority of the Representatives in the House, roughly half the Senate, and, our President elect. In coming months, TSCL plans to hold the lawmakers accountable for how they plan to turn this promise into reality for older Americans. .TSCL also announced its support this week for the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act (S. 41, H.R. 242), which was introduced by Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN) in the Senate and by Representative Peter Welch (VT) in the House. Their bill, if signed into law, would require the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate prescription drug prices on behalf of nearly 40 million Medicare Part D beneficiaries. If HHS were able to negotiate similar prices as those paid by Medicaid and the Veterans Health Administration, the Medicare program would save billions of dollars annually, and beneficiaries would have better access to more affordable prescription drugs. .Medicare Advantage plans. Medicare Advantage plans are administered by private insurers and cover all your Medicare Part A hospital, Part B doctors benefits. Many include Part D prescription drug benefits as well. They may also include coverage for benefits that aren't covered by Medicare, like vision or hearing services, as part of the premium, or you may pay extra for the coverage. You can enroll during your initial Medicare enrollment period or during the fall Open Enrollment Period that runs from October 15 through December To learn more about Medicare Advantage plans in your area, check your 2014 copy of Medicare & You. Call Medicare toll free at 1-800- MEDICARE ( 7) or visit Medicare.gov. … Continued

Also last year, I introduced the Medicare Advantage Coverage Transparency Act which was ultimately passed with unanimous support and then signed into law by President Obama. Decision-making in Washington should be based on transparency. A truly representative legislature should foster a culture of openness, which is why this law now requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to offer Congress expanded information on Medicare Advantage enrollment each year based on zip code, congressional district, and state. The purpose of this additional data is to provide greater information to the public, to policymakers, and to the health care community so they may have the most up-to-date information when making decisions. .The Three Biggest Expenses to Cut In Retirement — Most seniors spend more time clipping coupons to save a few dollars when they do their weekly grocery shopping than they ever spend cutting these three biggies. Spend more time on these and you'll have more money for groceries and everything else. .A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass the appropriations bills that allow agencies to operate. As a result, federal workers and government contractors temporarily don't get paid until after the shutdown has ended. But hitting the debt limit would have far more reaching effects. The debt limit is the legal limit on the total amount of debt the federal government may take on. That limit is especially important to older Americans because the federal government has used trillions in excess payroll tax revenues from the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds in the past, and now must borrow in order to pay Social Security and Medicare benefits in full and on time. .Last month, the Health and Human Services' watchdog agency announced plans to review the pace of inspections in nursing homes and barriers to completing them — referring to such checks as a "fundamental safeguard to ensure that nursing home residents are safe and receive high-quality care." .The total cost for a single year of treatment with the nation's most expensive specialty drugs can cost more than the entire retirement savings for many retirees. The annual cost of the cancer drug Idhifa, for example, is 0,85According to a new study by the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation, the median out-of-pocket cost that Medicare Part D beneficiaries will pay out-of-pocket for specialty drugs in 2019 would be ,55Patients suffering from multiple sclerosis could pay an estimated out-of-pocket of ,409 in 2019 for Glatiramer acetate. Even on the "low side," the annual out-of-pocket for Hepatitis C drug, Zepatier runs ,622. .The Senior Citizens League's members nation-wide agree that the elimination of the medical expense deduction would be a significant loss for those living on fixed incomes. I encourage lawmakers to keep this critical tax deduction in place and to take a stand for older and disabled Americans as tax reform discussions continue in the days and weeks ahead. .During last fall's debt limit deal, Members of Congress passed legislation containing un-debated, secret provisions that made two major changes to Social Security benefit claiming strategies. The changes cut the expected retirement income of some married couples already at full entitlement age. Do you believe entitlement cuts are necessary in exchange for your vote to lift the debt limit in the future? .Social Security defines an overpayment as "any time beneficiaries receive more than they should have." This occurs for a number for reasons, but most frequently when Social Security isn't notified of changes, such as a death of a beneficiary or excess earnings when working. Overpayments can also be due to errors by the Social Security Administration, but even when the overpayments are Social Security's own fault, the beneficiary must prove he or she is not at fault. .Shop around regularly. You can save hundreds of dollars a year in premiums by shopping around. Some state insurance department websites publish rate comparisons for standardized coverage that can help you find the best deals. Another way to compare is to shop from an independent insurance agent who sells from multiple carriers. You can also try online sites like Insure.com, NetQuote.com and SelectQuote.com. When considering a less expensive insurer, consider getting auto coverage from the same company for savings of up to 30 percent.