News

  • Legislative Update For Week Ending November 8 2013

    "Tough choices." When referring to reducing the Social Security deficit, those tough choices boil down to just two choices — raising taxes or cutting benefits. The Social Security Notch is one of our nation's most ignominious examples of how tough Social Security choices went awry. .Source: " 10 Charts About Public Opinion On Medicaid," Kaiser Family Foundation, June 27, 201"Medicare Savings Program Cuts Delayed By Two Months," Mackenzie Rigg, The CT Mirror, December 5, 201"General Assembly Reverses Cuts To Medicare Program," Keith Phaneuf, The CT Mirror, January 8, 2018. .Many expected immigration reform to be a focal point of the President's speech, however, his remarks on the topic were vague and very brief. In one short paragraph, he said, "Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have acted. I know that members of both parties in the House want to do the same … So let's get immigration reform done this year." TSCL has some serious concerns about comprehensive immigration reform, since it would further strain the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds. We strongly feel that any efforts to reform the system should include loophole-closing legislation that would prevent immigrants from receiving benefits based on a history of illegal work. … Continued

  • Update For Week Ending July 31 2021

    The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would eliminate many important tax deductions that older Americans rely on to reduce their taxable retirement income and preserve their savings. Those include deductions for medical expenses, which can be considerable for retirees. The bill also eliminates the deduction for state and local income taxes, casualty loss expenses, such as fire, wind damage and theft, and imposes new limits for the mortgage interest deduction. "The loss of these exemptions would leave older Americans paying taxes on more retirement income and higher tax bills," Johnson says. .Susan has rheumatoid arthritis and was taking Humira, a drug that would cost more than ,000 out-of-pocket if she had to purchase it through a Part D plan. Prior to starting Medicare, she paid a .00 per month co-pay for Humira through her husband's insurance. Before starting on Medicare though, Susan decided to try a less expensive older generic, Methotrexate, which costs just .00 per month through her Part D plan. .TSCL offers its supporters an unconditional refund of their most recent donation if they are dissatisfied with our position or performance. … Continued

According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), for an age 65 retiree with average wages, a maximum benefit disparity of 10% would have arisen between the highest benefit under the old rules and the lowest benefit under the new rules if the 1977 assumptions had materialized. Under the economic conditions that actually arose, the disparity was 25%-two and one half times greater. .Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-2) introduced H.R. 4998 on June 26, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. .TSCL was pleased to see support grow for H.R. 1902, H.R. 2575, and H.R. 4841 this week, and we will continue to advocate for them tirelessly in the months ahead. For more information, visit the Bill Tracking section of our website. For updates on the progress of these and other bills, follow The Senior Citizens League on Twitter. .Does Medicare provide coverage for eye care services or eyeglasses? .To counter concerns over the cost of "fixing" the Notch and the financial solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund, TSCL backs an alternative "capped-cost" solution. "The Notch Fairness Act" would provide Notch Babies born from 1917 through 1926, or their survivors who receive benefits based on their accounts, a choice of either improved monthly benefits, or a lump-sum of ,000 payable over a four-year period. Recent surveys of TSCL members show more than 75% favor the lump-sum legislation. .Watch your mail for information from your current Medicare supplemental or Medicare Advantage, and drug plan insurers. Your insurers will send you notification of changes in coverage, such as premiums, deductible, and co-insurance or co-payment costs for 200Carefully review these documents and compare them with your costs in 200File these documents where you can easily refer to them because you will need to use them for comparison when comparing other insurance options. .Each year SSA receives hundreds of millions of employer reported W2s. When Social Security receives a name or SSN on a W-2 that does not match SSA's records, the wage report goes into the ESF while the SSA attempts to reconcile the discrepancy. In recent years the file has been growing at an unprecedented pace—the fastest since the inception of Social Security in 1937. .Several lawmakers also expressed their concerns about rising prescription drug prices at Wednesday's hearing. When asked whether the administration would take action to assist seniors who fall into Medicare Part D's "doughnut hole," Congressman Price said: "It is imperative that we provide the greatest amount of opportunity for individual seniors to be able to gain access to the drugs that they need." Senator Bill Nelson (FL) expressed his dissatisfaction with that response, saying: "If I gave [seniors] that answer, I would get run out of the room." .TSCL has been concerned that the coronavirus pandemic could accelerate the impending insolvency of the Medicare Trust Fund. With record numbers of Americans out of work, fewer payroll taxes are coming in to fund Medicare spending. At the same time, the number of beneficiaries is rising and, earlier this year, Congress accessed Medicare's reserves to fund COVID-19 relief efforts.