Typically, working adults age 65 and older can delay enrolling in Medicare without penalty, if they continue to receive group health insurance through their employer. The employer, however, must have more than 20 or more employees. Employers with fewer than 20, fall under Medicare primary payer rules. Under current law, Medicare is the primary payer at age 65 and if you don't sign up by your Initial Enrollment deadline, your former insurance will no longer cover you, because by law, Medicare pays first. In addition, you would be subject to permanent late enrollment penalties for the rest of your life when you do get around to signing up for Medicare..For information about town hall meetings near you in the days ahead, call the local offices of your elected officials. For contact information, click HERE..If the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment were based on a more accurate measure of inflation for seniors, beneficiaries would not be receiving a record-low 0.3% increase this year. They would be receiving an increase of 2.1% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Do you support legislation that would base the COLA on a more accurate inflation index like the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly?.COLA cuts: The White House proposes switching to the more slowly - growing measure of inflation, the chained consumer price index, to calculate annual COLAs. The proposal has bipartisan support in Congress. According to the Congressional Budget Office, it would cut spending on Social Security about 7 billion over the next ten years and bring in roughly 4 billion in higher taxes. To learn how the proposal would impact your benefits, try TSCL's Chained COLA calculator..Wednesday's vote marks an important step in the confirmation process, and she now faces only one more vote from the full Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said that he hopes to schedule a final confirmation vote before the end of the month. The overwhelming display of support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on Wednesday means that Burwell's path to confirmation will likely be an easy one. Nonetheless, TSCL will continue to keep a close eye on the process in the coming days..Totalization agreements allow workers who divide their careers between two countries to combine earnings credits under both systems in order to qualify for benefits. The U.S. currently has 24 such agreements, most with nations having economies similar to our own. What makes the agreement with Mexico so controversial are the millions of Mexicans working in this country without legal authorization..If he should choose to veto the bill all bets are off as to what would happen next..If you currently have dental insurance, you may want to check with your plan to see what dental services are covered. If you do have some coverage now, consider getting necessary dental work before you start Medicare. You may also want to shop for Medicare Advantage health plan that covers routine dental services, but carefully first compare other costs and coverage for your specific health conditions and prescription needs..In years when there has been no, or almost no cost-of-living adjustment, Medicare Part B premiums have spiked significantly. TSCL is highly concerned that another Medicare Part B premium spike could.Benefit Bulletin: June 2020 Medicare Premiums Could Spike Due to Coronavirus
