News

This week, The Senior Citizens League was pleased to see support grow for four key bills in the House and Senate..The Notch that..TSCL will continue to monitor this debate, and will work to educate Members of Congress about the potential for problems in funding benefits that could result from extending the payroll tax holiday. In the meantime, TSCL is also asking seniors to contact their Members of Congress and urge them to oppose extending the Social Security payroll tax cut..For information on upcoming town hall meetings, click HERE. For updates on the progress of the BCRA in the coming days, follow TSCL on Twitter or visit the Legislative News section of our website..Like Senators Klobuchar, McCain, and Grassley, TSCL enthusiastically supports efforts by the administration to reduce prescription drug costs, and we hope to see the White House move forward on executive actions that would allow for prescription drug importation. In the meantime, we will continue to advocate on Capitol Hill for legislation like the Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act and the Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act, both of which would go a long way in reducing prescription drug costs for older Americans..Committees Discuss Solutions to Opioid Epidemic.The threat among seniors of going without nourishing meals, especially those who are older and depend on Social Security for the majority of their income, like many Notch Babies, is very real. In addition to the cognitive and health problems that interfere with good nutrition as seniors age, the national median income of people over 65 is only ,75About one-in-seven seniors has little money left over for food after paying basic monthly expenses like housing, utility, and healthcare costs..The amount you pay for your CT scan will vary by your Medicare Advantage plan and whether you get your CT scan from a preferred provider. You will need to call your plan to learn the out-of-pocket cost details, and to make sure the facility, doctors, and medical technicians performing the CT scan are preferred providers with your Medicare Advantage plan. You could pay considerably more if you use providers who are not under contract with your Medicare Advantage plan. Call the customer service number on the back of your health plan's card, have your questions written down and be ready to take notes..Avoid Falling for this Scam:

Covid Brain What Is It And How Do You Deal With It

"TSCL believes voters need to understand that one of the most likely actions that Congress may take is to 'borrow' or otherwise reallocate payroll taxes originally destined for retirement benefits, to cover disability benefits instead," Cates notes. Congress has taken such action six times in the past to delay exhaustion of the DI trust fund.[ii] Doing so would give Congress more time to fix the system, but the move would worsen retirement program financing more quickly. If implemented, the Social Security Chief Actuary estimates that the retirement fund would only have enough revenues to cover 75% of costs by depletion, at which time retirees would face benefit cuts of 25%. "This raises an important question," Cates notes. "Would today's retirees go for a bailout of the disability system using money that's supposed to be for their own retirement benefits?" Cates asks..The new analysis by Johnson compared the growth of retiree benefits from 2009 through 2020 to learn how much more in income retirees would receive if COLAs had grown by a more typical rate of 3 percent. The analysis found that an "average" retiree benefit of ,075 per month in 2009 has grown to ,249 in 2020 but, if COLAs had averaged 3 percent, that benefit would be 7 per month higher today, and those individuals would have received ,227.40 more in Social Security income over the 2010 to 2020 period..This includes, among other things, legislation to strengthen the long-term viability of both Social Security and Medicare; lowering the costs of prescription drugs; enacting a fair COLA that takes into account the actual cost of living increases seniors face; Social Security Notch Reform; stopping any cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, or to the COLA that may be proposed; enacting legislation to provide for dental, vision and hearing coverage for seniors. … Continued

Health Congress Passes Surprise Medical Billing Legislation Magazine2021

The executive order directs the Department of Health and Human Services to develop proposals that would expand plan options, encourage innovation in plan designs and payment models, and improve the enrollment process to make it easier to choose plans. It includes a variety of proposals that include combating waste, fraud and abuse in the program, and improving access to new treatments and medical devices..To find the Meals on Wheels program in your area, check the Eldercare Locator or call your local Area Agency on Aging..New Part D plan drug pricing programs may lower costs for those who seek out the savings. Recent Congressional scrutiny on drug pricing may be spurring some drug plans to drop prices. One of the biggest cost-savings found is a new drug plan pricing program that lowers the cost of insulin. In the 2018, the lowest cost Part D plan charged an copay for a 100/ML of Lantus Solostar. In 2019, a different plan had lowest cost copays charging as little as .00 - .00 for Lantus Solostar, in the Cigna-HealthSpring Rx Secure - Extra Part D plan. The highest cost plan, which does not cover Lantus, charges the full price, 3.18 per 100/ML. … Continued