News

The new payment system applies to traditional fee-for-service Medicare and not to Medicare Advantage plans which have their own system. If you are told that Medicare's home health benefits have changed, don't believe it. Coverage requirements haven't changed, and Medicare beneficiaries are still entitled to the same type of home health services..In a separate report, the CDC responded to concerns about deaths being misattributed to Coved-1The agency took a close look at death certificates, finding that most that listed Covid-19 also named other contributing problems. They included conditions such as diabetes, known to increase the danger of severe disease, or conditions such as pneumonia that occurred in the chain of events leading to the deaths..I live on a fixed income of less than 0 dollars a month. I live in public housing for seniors, and during the pandemic, I had to rely on help from my children to eat every month. I was approved for 6 a month in food stamps. A blessing! However, when you live in public housing, and then get a cost-of-living adjustment, it affects your eligibility for public benefits. In my state, the formula they use took 30% of my COLA. Then because of the COLA your food stamps can be lowered. What's the point of getting a raise? Something should change about the formula. - A.R., IL..For people with incomes less than ,000, the monthly Medicare Part B premium in 2017 is 4, and Medicare Trustees expect it to stay at that amount in 201But the vast majority of retirees are paying a Part B premium that's far lower than 4 - about 0 or less - due to a special provision of law that protects Social Security benefits from reduction when Medicare Part B premiums rise more than the COLA raises benefits..The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Frank Pallone, Jr. has been working with the top Republican on that committee, Greg Walden of Oregon, on what measures need to be included in the next coronavirus bill. Walden is pushing for a surprise billing measure to be in the bill, but Pallone has yet to commit to it..Ever since I was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1970, I have dedicated myself to ensuring the financial security of the Social Security program. At times, I had to speak out against Presidents of both parties who proposed changes in the system that would cut or eliminate Social Security COLAs or even replace the program with private Social Security savings accounts.."'The Senate's immediate role is clear: we need to support the federal, state, and local public health officials and healthcare professionals who are working overtime to blunt, delay, and mitigate the spread of the virus,' McConnell said. 'The American people deserve for their Congress to meet this subject head on.'".The Supreme Court recently upheld the Affordable Care Act. While most people understood that the Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of the "individual mandate," many seniors may not have thought much about how the court's decision would affect Medicare. The decision maintains both new senior benefits and 0 billion in Medicare spending cuts over the next eight years. Here's a list of major provisions that affect seniors:."This is a budget cut that makes no sense," says TSCL Executive Director Shannon Benton. "Meals on Wheels is a low-cost program that reduces our nation's healthcare bill and more importantly helps seniors stay in their home and remain independent," she says.